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Tag: father

The Holy Spirit IS that I AM
The Holy Spirit IS.
I am the Spirit of God.
I am the LORD.

The HOLY SPIRIT of Trinity

Who IS God?

It’s a question we all ask and a familiar question asked by many souls before us.

Moses said to God,

“If I go to the Israelites and tell them,

‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’

and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ – what should I say to them?”

Exodus 3:13 NET Bible

And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exodus 3:14 KJV

JESUS asked His Apostles a rhetorically similar question:

While he was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them,

“Who do the crowds say that I am? ”

Gospel of Luke 9:18 CSB

And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ

And Peter answered and said, “The [Messiah] Christ of God.”

Gospel of Luke 9:20 LSB – Transliterated Greek [above] – ‘ho christos theos’

The Apostle Matthew’s Gospel witnesses this same relational answer of his fellow Apostle Peter:

And Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Matthew 16:16 LSB

God our Father and Lord

We get it humanly – the relationship of a son (or daughter) to a father (or to our mother).

Human AND ever-existing SON

Mortal men and women can relate to a Son of THE FATHER.

We understand, in part, that JESUS was flesh and blood, body and brain a perfect human son of man (Mary, actually: ‘man‘ as in human like all of us).

John, the Apostle who speaks so well relationally in the witness of his Gospel tells us:

But these [signs, proofs or miracles] are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Gospel of John 20:[30-]31 New English Translation

The Twelve, having loved their friend and Master whom they followed willingly, understood a relational link between JESUS and each of His disciples personally.

When the Lord in so many ways showed His Disciples His ever-existing relationship to Almighty God our Father — HIS Father from before the beginning — they could not have been more awe struck that GOD stood in their human presence.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

I and my Father are one.

Gospel of John 10:27-30 KJV [context: John 10:22-30 KJV ]
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We get that - in a human sense of relationship.
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Jesus and Spirit

Yet think from the witness of any of the Twelve of the impact of JESUS, the living Christ they follow, telling His disciples: “I and the Father are One.”
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Just like all faithful Jews, these disciples had recited the Sh'ma since their childhood:
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Sh’ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Eḥad

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד׃

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

דְּבָרִים (Deuteronomy) 6 : 4
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Even so, the Disciples had heard their Master instruct Nicodemus, a leader of the Sanhedrin:
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Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Gospel of John 3:5-6 ESV [in context of John 3:1-21]

John’s Gospel continues with Jesus’ further explanation of the Spirit:

“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Gospel of John 3:23-24 LSB – Words of Jesus Christ to a Samaritan woman

What is JESUS telling us about spirit and the Holy Spirit?
- Although mankind is flesh and blood, created from dust and water,
- and Man is created in God’s image;
- Man, LIKE GOD, is also spirit.
What is Spirit?

John begins his Gospel with Jesus (the Word) and the Spirit.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.

Gospel of John 1:1-4 Berean Standard Bible

John’s clear reference is the beginning written in the word of Moses:

בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ׃

וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהֹום וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם׃

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep.

And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Genesis 1:1-3 [Hebrew] Berean Standard Bible

JESUS, THE WORD, WAS WITH GOD AND WAS GOD — ‘hovering over ‘a waste and emptiness,’ in the darkness over a face of the deep…

And the Word said:
“Let there be light,”
and there was light.
Genesis 1:3 in the context of John 1:1-5
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READ MORE BELOW
NOTE: 
Although I generally limit your reading time to ~5 minutes, today I'll expand our TOPIC of SPIRIT with additional definitions and more Biblical verses than we could cover in a single post on the SPIRIT.

Please continue and COMMENT at the end of this entire post.- RH
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Spirit [spirit] – rûaḥ – רוּח
- The KJV translates Strong’s H7307 in the following manner: Spirit or spirit (232x), wind (92x), breath (27x), (various additional)
- Two additional uses in Genesis show both the Spirit of God and His quickening spirit in His creatures, including mankind:
  - And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; – Gen. 6:3a NKJV
  - And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life.. All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. – Gen. 7:15,22 NKJV
COMMENTARY

The Spirit of God; not the wind, which was not yet created, as is manifest, because the air, the matter or subject of it, was not yet produced; but the Third Person of the glorious Trinity, called the Holy Ghost, to whom the work of creation is attributed, Job 26:13, as it is ascribed to the Second Person, the Son, Joh 1:3 Col 1:16-17 Heb 1:3, and to the First Person, the Father, every where.

– Matthew Poole’s Commentary on Genesis 1

Job asks [12:10 LSB]:

In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all the flesh of man?

Man cannot grasp the whirlwind or the unseen breath of God, yet JESUS, who IS One with the Father tells us:

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”

Gospel of John 4:24 CSB

πνεῦμα – pneuma in the New Testament

Spirit in the New Testament – basically has the same meaning AND is just as mysterious, illusive as the breath of angels. – RH
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(Note the prepositions, 'the' or 'a' in the Strong's definitions) 
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spirit in a living soul
- the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated
  - the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides
  - the soul
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How do you think of your own spirit? 
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“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Gospel of Matthew 5:3 LSB from the Beatitudes of Jesus Christ
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Consider a mysterious ethereal truth: observable, yet beyond measure of man's contemporary thought. 
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spirits apart from your own mortal soul
- a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting
  - a life giving spirit
  - a human soul that has left the body
  - a spirit higher than man but lower than God, i.e. an angel
    
    used of demons, or evil spirits, who were conceived as inhabiting the bodies of men
    
    the spiritual nature of Christ, higher than the highest angels and equal to God, the divine nature of Christ
“Now when the unclean spirit G4151 goes out of a man [anthrōpos – a human being, whether male or female], it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.

Matthew 12:43 LSB

spirit and soul alike, yet distinct

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 NKJV
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Before proceeding to the more powerful and most mysterious Holy Spirit of God, 

consider beyond flesh and blood, mind and spirit --
that which is the same in Old and New Testaments, yet having subtle ungraspable distinction: spirit and soul.
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“BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN;

MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL [psychē] IS WELL-PLEASED;

I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT [pneuma] UPON HIM,

AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.

Gospel of Matthew 12:18 LSB quoting Isaiah 43:1 quote of the LORD

We hear it also in the heart of Isaiah, a Prophet of God:

With my soul [nep̄eš] I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit [rûaḥ] within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Isaiah 26:9 NKJV
- soul – psychē – NT Greek
- soul – nep̄eš – נֶפֶשׁ – OT Hebrew
the HOLY Spirit
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Although related to spirit, we cannot examine the soul today as part of our brief topic of the Trinity and Holy Spirit.
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Spirit – rûaḥ or pneuma

H7307 – rûaḥ – רוּחַ

Spirit of God, the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son
1. as inspiring ecstatic state of prophecy
2. as impelling prophet to utter instruction or warning
3. imparting warlike energy and executive and administrative power
4. as endowing men with various gifts
5. as energy of life
6. as manifest in the Shekinah glory
7. never referred to as a depersonalised force
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

Gospel of Matthew 1:18 NKJV

Simply the human beginning of the son of man (Mary, a virgin, that is; bearing a second adam in the line of God’s created ones).

Certainly mysterious, controversial to this day to the psyches and spirits of mortal men and women who resist the Spirit of God.

In His love and in His pity He redeemed them;
And He bore them and carried them
All the days of old. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit;

Isaiah 63:9b-10a NKJV

πνεῦμα – pneuma – spirit OR ghost

When you hear an ENGLISH translation of pneuma in the King James Version it will most often suggest an image of the Holy Ghost.

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Gospel of John 14:26 KJV – the promise of Jesus Christ

As mysterious as Ghost or the Spirit may be to mankind, its root word [Strong’s G4154 – pneō] directs our thoughts
- to breathe hard, i.e. breeze:—blow (of the wind)
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’

The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Gospel of John 3:5-8SB

The HOLINESS of God

NO mention of Trinity is absent the key concept of HOLY in reference to the HOLY GHOST or the HOLY SPIRIT.
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We have examined the doctrines of Holiness previously:
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DOCTRINE: GOD IS HOLY

He will give you another Helper – the Holy Spirit

I encourage you in the spirit to pray with ears to hear the Holy Spirit of the Lord God, who IS ONE with the Father and the Son our savior Jesus Christ.

Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

David, King of Israel – Psalm 51:11

Acts of the HOLY SPIRIT

God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.

Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

Acts of the Apostles 2:32-33 BSB

– testimony of the Apostle Peter in Jerusalem’s Temple

“Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied,

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins,

and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

With many other words he testified, and he urged them, “Be saved from this corrupt generation.”

Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day.

Acts of the Apostles 2:37b-41 Berean Standard Bible
November 16, 2024
Ministers of Christ: Faithful Stewards – 1 Corinthians 4
4 Let a man so account us as the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
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1 Corinthians 4:1 21stCenturyKJV
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The Apostle Paul has been making his case as the architect of the Corinthian church.

Christ’s Contractor in Corinth

The Need for Unity

.. you ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. [NIV]
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Now Paul moves forward by pointing to the ministry of Corinthian Christians and make a few points as example.
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Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.

1 Corinthians 4:2 RSV

ἀνακρίνω – anakrinō – examined
- it is a very small thing that I may be examined (by you or any)
- In fact, I do not even examine myself.
- No charges against me
- Yet I am not acquitted
- But the one who examines me is the Lord.
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Consider personally the definition of Paul's topic:

Do YOU examine or judge? interrogate? examine the accused or witnesses?
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Does your investigation examine, enquire into, scrutinize, sift, and question?

As the Corinthian church’s leading architect the Apostle challenges its leaders and members to be judges of and estimate or determine (the excellence or defects of any person or thing) ALL who build Christ’s church in Corinth.

Contrary to our Common Era cop-out by evangelicals avoiding examination of our own inconsistencies within the church, the Apostle Paul has already established the architecture for Christians to account for each other.

But he who is spiritual examines G350 all things, yet he himself is examined G350 by no one.

1 Corinthians 2:15 LSB – : Strong’s G350 – anakrinō

IT’S A HIGH STANDARD.

Now the Apostle writes in response to the Corinthian church (some translations use JUDGED in place of examined):

I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.

My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.

It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes.

1 Corinthians 4:3-5a New International Version

He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. – 1 Cor 4:5b
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Later in this letter Paul instructs further:
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Therefore if.. an unbeliever or an uninformed man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that SURELY GOD IS AMONG YOU. 1Co 14:24 LSB excerpt; 1Co 14:25

The Nature of True Apostleship

FIRST, a reminder of who are apostles AND what defines a true apostle?

ἀπόστολος

a delegate; specially, an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ (“apostle”) (with miraculous powers):—apostle, messenger, he that is sent.

Strong’s G652 – apostolos
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Paulos apostolos iēsous christos [Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ] will further define his anointing as an apostle just a bit further into his epistle [letter] to the Corinthians.
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If to others I am not an apostle^G652, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 9:2 LSB

Paul moves forward to an alleged controversary perceived between his leadership and teaching and that of Apollos, who had also ministered to the Corinthian church with great power.

Apollos and Paul – Apostles crossing paths

(in case you missed this from Luke’s historical Account of the Apostles of the 1st c. church)

Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written. Then you will not take pride in one man over another. –1 Corinthians 4:6 BSB

NOW the Apostle’s accounting of leaders of the Corinthian church:
- For who makes you so superior?
- What do you have that you did not receive?
- And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
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Paul answers his own rhetorical questions:
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Servants of Christ

8 Already you have all you want.

Already you have become rich.

Without us, you have become kings.

How I wish you really were kings, so that we might be kings with you!

9 For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death.

We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men.

WHAT EXACTLY DOES THE APOSTLE OBSERVE OF THIS CHURCH?

This judgment from these verses of Paul’s epistle translates from the Greek to English with words perhaps more telling:

You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us— NKJV

You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us! – NLT

Fools for Christ
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SO YOU think that you are smart enough to lead YOUR church without listening to apostles sent to guide you in building Christ's church?
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We are fools on account of Christ, but you are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; You are honored, but we are without honor.

1 Corinthians 4:10 BLB
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Now listen to Paul's circumstance at the very time the Apostle writes to the Corinthians:
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11 As far as the present hour, we both hunger and thirst, and are poorly clad, and are buffeted [harshly treated], and wander homeless, and we toil, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being slandered, we entreat [endure].

We have become as the residue of the world, the refuse of all, until now.

– 1 Corinthians 4:11-15 BLB

– IS PAUL CONDEMNING THE CORINTHIAN PASTORS?

– Does PAUL understate his own challenges by comparison to the Corinthians?

WHY would this architect of the Corinthian Church write to them with such severity?

Apostolic Fatherhood

Paul restates his case for continuing his own guidance of the leadership of the Corinthian leadership.

The New King James Version of Paul’s epistle heads this section of Scripture given in his first letter to the Corinthians: Paul’s Paternal Care.

Leading young Pastors and guiding their sheep

14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you.
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How do YOU take fatherly warnings such as these?

Do you LISTEN as an obedient child of the Lord? 

OR might you, beloved child of God, insist on a life with Jesus YOUR own way?
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I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. – KJV

I WARN you. – to put in mind, i.e. (by implication) to caution or reprove gently:—admonish, warn.

Of course some are ashamed, convicted in their hearts by nature of our guilt. Some translations use admonish, correction, advise — but don’t miss the Apostle’s intent as a father of his flock in the Way of Christ Jesus as our Lord.

15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me.
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Paul, of course, has fathered or mentored others -- several others throughout his three Apostolic missions proclaiming the Gospel into all the world; none more faithful and true than Timothy, his young protege in Ephesus.

It is Timothy who brings Paul's Epistle to Corinth. And the Apostle expresses complete confidence in this young pastor who he sent to the Corinthians. 

The ESV states this well:
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I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord,

to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians 4:16-17 ESV

Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.

NIV

But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.

the Kingdom of God
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- Who has authority in the Kingdom of Christ Jesus?
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The Apostle challenges the Corinthian believers and leaders to show the true fruit of humility in Christ.

For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.

1 Corinthians 4:20 NLT

Which do you choose?
- Should I come with a rod to punish you,
- or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?
NEXT: The Apostle Paul will take on an enduring common challenge of the Church:

πορνεία – porneia
August 29, 2024
‘You’re NOT MY Father!’ – the prodigal C.E. Evangelical
‘You’re not my father,’ the young woman yelled at the top of her voice as her mother tried to take control of the situation. (The prodigal teen might just as well been a son rejecting the authority of his father.)

Our Family Prodigal

Most Christians are no doubt familiar with the scenario of Jesus’ parable about the prodigal son with its two brothers questioning their relationships with their father.

We have perhaps neglected a theological relationship of the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit of God.

Today in PART 2 of our examination of the role of the FATHER we continue in our study of doctrines of the Common Era by looking at contemporary family relationships AND parallels to the Son Jesus‘ parable of the prodigal son (which of course HE is not).

God our Father estranged from Trinity

Part 1 of God our Father and His role in the Trinity

Parable of the prodigal son
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You'll find an archaic former view of 'the prodigal' in the New King James version of the Bible from Before the Common Era referring to the son's prodigal living common to this era.
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Root word from the Greek translated as prodigal or riotous.

This parable of Jesus is part of three illustrations of those whose faith is LOST as answer to why the Lord receives and dines with SINNERS.

Gospel of Luke 15:

The Parable of the Lost Son

Luke 15:11 NKJV
Then He said:

“A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.

But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ..when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him,

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’

HERE is the riotous Common Era christian as well! You, me and others BEFORE some realize that WE may return to GOD the FATHER in humility — BEFORE some become acceptable in the Father’s house through the saving grace of the SINLESS Son JESUS our only hope and Savior.
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(You likely know more of the parable and its additional lessons from this father.)
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“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

Why do Common Era prodigals deny the Father’s love?

Our cover PHOTO, christian family photo album or church member directory could include THOUSANDS of FACES we know who were once near and dear to our hearts.
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As noted previously the truth of SCRIPTURE has not changed. 

WE cannot quite grasp the mystery of the Holy Spirit. 

AND in Common Era preaching Jesus can be promoted more like WE like on the stage of 'worship.'

YET the fruit of FALSE teaching may easily rot souls JESUS would save had WE prodigal evangelicals returned to the Father.
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Jesus welcomes ALL sinners with the love of a friend. This Common Era king embraces sinners of ALL cultures and beliefs without requiring any turn toward His righteousness and away from The Life of this world.

FALSE! According to Scripture.

Witness of a dad

I know a man in Christ.. —such a man was caught up to the third heaven.
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The Apostle Paul in witnessing a true event without disclosure of his source of witness writes to Christians in Corinth.

The 'man' in Christ may have been Paul, John during his Revelation from Jesus Christ, perhaps even Peter or another. The witness is authentic. Therefore the truth and impact of these scenes require no identification of its narrator.
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‘I knew a dad..’ I could say, ‘I know a man’ or ‘I know a woman’ or even ‘I knew a 21st century common era mom.’

Here is true witness of several sad stories of sin:

common fathers in the Common Era:
- Their father insisted, “not in my house you don’t,” but they did.
- Her older sister ran away with her boyfriend, then her father came into her at night!
- Their ‘christian‘ mother was caught in the arms of another man, then threw her father out of their house.
- The church had no idea who the father of a single mom leading worship might be.
- Their father cheated with a woman at work, then they all moved to another town where this prodigal pastor did it again.
- The PK (Pastor’s Kid) was known to be sleeping with a significant other.
- When their son got his girlfriend pregnant mom helped pay for her to get an abortion.
- She changed schools so no one would know what her mother dared not tell her father.
- A father suspected his son partied all night with guys and girls alike.
- “HE’S NOT MY FATHER! You have to choose between him and ME,” insisted the step-daughter to her mom.
These are all lost sheep, prodigal sons and daughters of FATHERS who are also sinners.

JESUS would invite ANY to the great feast of Heaven..

YET MANY will die in their sin

still refusing to turn back to our Father God

from so many pigsties of the Common Era.

Further resistance against fathers

SOMETHING CHANGED, but I’m not certain when.
Roger@TalkofJesus.com

What is certain in 2023 of the Common Era is that:
- Christians have again become a minority.
- Marriages between one man and one woman for life are rare (even among ‘christians.’)
- Children need not be born into a Common Era home with values of God our FATHER.
- Parents of the Common Era reject accountability to a father, a family and to God.
Fathers (present or absent) may NOT raise, teach or discipline ANY human progeny.

a few more facts:
- The 1960 Census showed a record proportion married, 67.4 percent, among persons 14 years old and over.
- The number of families in the United States in 1960 was 45.1 million. (A family is a group of two or more persons who are related to each other and living in the same household.)
- In 2011, the Pew Research Center found that 51 percent of Americans were married, compared to 72 percent in 1960. However, rates of cohabiting couples are rising
- according to private research company Demographic Intelligence, less than half a million couples were cohabiting in 1960, compared to 7.5 million in 2010 [C.E.]
  - Source: HuffPost 7/22/2023 C.E. TEN years ago
America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2022 – U.S. Census
- TOTAL children of any age living in household:
  - US Census Source of statistics below
    
    71.9% with living spouse present (at time of survey only)
- 4.2% Cohabiting with joint biological child (actual # may be higher than survey sample)
- 2.6% Cohabiting with NO joint biological child
- 21.3% or ONE IN FIVE – NO partner present (at time of survey)
  - A few are single fathers — MOST are culturally priased as SINGLE MOMS in the Common Era
WHY does Common Era culture reject JESUS?

GOD, the authority of any church and especially FATHERS are anathema to the majority of this COMMON ERA.
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com on Rejection of the Father of Trinity

It’s quite easy for some to worship MARY, the ‘single mom’ of the child Jesus we celebrate each ‘Christmas.’

Yet in the Common Era Mary could easily have made a CHOICE to ABORT this BABY before the Census in Bethlehem!

BUT since SHE chose to live with Joseph (who is NOT the FATHER of Jesus),

Mary was a ‘single MOM’ we can look up to — even worship as the mother of god.
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Of course A.D. first century culture was intolerant of such things.
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What does JESUS say about ‘the Father’ that is so offensive to so many in Common Era churches in these last days?

“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that am He, and I do nothing from Myself, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.

“I and the Father are [in essence] one.”
Gospel of John: 6:40, 8:28, 10:30 Legacy Standard Bible

apokalypsis iēsous christos which God gave Him to show to His slaves the things which must soon happen; and He indicated this by sending it through His angel to His slave John,
The Revelation of Jesus Christ 1:1 LSB from Morphological Greek New Testament
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Revelation 3:19-22
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‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent.

Reproof, discipline and certainly that ‘slave‘ thing WE dare not proclaim to Common Era christians.

‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Revelation of Jesus Christ to John

Talk of JESUS .com

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 LSB – Command of the Risen Christ Jesus

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November 30, 2023