How are we to be like God?

[AdHoc]

If you can only use one word to describe a characteristic of God that we should follow as an example what word would you use?

And why do you choose that word?

[myth-one.com]

Gaining salvation:

Two type of bodies are defined in the scriptures -- natural and spiritual.

Natural bodies are mortal and spiritual bodies are immortal.

It should be obvious as to the one and only path to salvation.

One gains salvation from death by being born again of the Spirit as a spiritual bodied being. Or as Jesus put it, "Ye must be born again."

Once one is born again of the Spirit, death no longer applies to that being.

=========================================

On the dark side, Satan wants to prevent man from gaining everlasting life.

What is the most obvious and easy way to prevent mankind from understanding God's plan of salvation for mankind?

It is to implant in mankind the lie that all mankind is born with everlasting life:

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (Genesis 3:4)

Once anyone accepts the lie of man's immortality, they cannot possibly understand the scriptures which repeatedly state that mankind will perish.

The wages of sin can no longer be death.

So the wages of sin must become some eternal physical punishment since nonbelievers cannot die.

We need "salvation" from some fictional everlasting physical torment.

Christianity thus becomes a religion based on fear, as opposed to love.

==========================================

Anyways, this results in the prophesied failure of the church to preach the gospel to all the nations.

Opprobrious or not, that is the general state of Christianity today.

[Sojournerofthearth]

[Replying to post 39 by myth-one.com]

Not to take sides here, but personally, I did not find anything you said to be opprobrious... scornful, abusive or critical... but then, I also agreed with most of what you said... but this one thing, gave me pause.

Anyways, this results in the prophesied failure of the church to preach the gospel to all the nations.

what prophesy is that?

Soj

[Sojournerofthearth]

[Replying to post 26 by AdHoc]

If you can only use one word to describe a characteristic of God that we should follow as an example what word would you use?

And why do you choose that word?

Everything.

We are to become as He is. We don't know exactly what we'll be like, but we know we shall be like Him at His appearing.

I said choose one word and you chose "everything" haha that's not fair.

Also isn't that technically two words?

Maybe... I don't know if I can get a description of God down to one word.

Perhaps the better word would have been Eternal. Because the greatest difference between us and God is that He envisions everything from the perspective of Eternity... we tend to be fairly short-sighted. He calculates the repercussions of every action, every word spoken, every deed done, into the dimensions of forever... which is why he hates sin.

From our perspective, we see only what we get out of it, most of the time. He sees repercussions into the generations, what it does to your life, the lives of those around you, the repercussions it brings on your progeny. We live a life centered on moments and He dwells in realms of immortality. So, I'd like to change my word.

Soj

[myth-one.com]

[Replying to post 39 by myth-one.com]

Not to take sides here, but personally, I did not find anything you said to be opprobrious... scornful, abusive or critical... but then, I also agreed with most of what you said... but this one thing, gave me pause.

Anyways, this results in the prophesied failure of the church to preach the gospel to all the nations.

what prophesy is that?

Soj

One sign of the end times is that the gospel must first be preached in the entire world before the end of this age, the age of man, occurs:

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)

And the gospel must first be published among all nations. (Mark 13:10)

In fact, what most churches call "The Great Commission" commands Christians to accomplish this very prophecy:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20)

However, even with the internet and communications systems of today, will we ever spread the true gospel among all nations and fulfill the great commission?

Obviously not, since God has to send an angel to fulfill this prophecy before the end of this age can occur:

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. (Revelation 14:6)

If God has to send an angel shortly before the second coming to spread the gospel to all the nations, then the church failed to do so.

The Bible states that it will happen that way. Therefore, it is prophesied.

===============================================

I believe this failure will occur because most churches do not even know the good news of the gospel. Most of humanity suffering everlasting punishment is good news to no one. (just my opinion -- not scriptural)

Thanks for the question & your response.

[PinSeeker]

I do not agree with your assessment of salvation...

Well that's too bad. But it's not about agreeing with me.

...I showed what the scripture says about continuing in the faith, and not getting shifted away. The scriptures wouldn't say that if there was no danger in leaving the faith.

Yeah, I don't disagree that we are to continue in the faith (and not get "shifted away"). But we should not be unclear on Who is actually to be ascribed glory for our continuing in the faith;

• * God, in His power, keeps us from stumbling and makes us stand in the presence of His glory blameless and with great joy (Jude 24).
  
  * He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at the Day of Christ (Phil. 1:6).
  
  * Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
  
  * for us Christians, it is God who is at work in us, so that we both will and work according to His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).
  
  * And it is by grace we have been saved through faith; and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (ePHESIANS 2:8-10)

Yes, we have responsibility, but it is God who really gets the credit/glory. Once God has us -- nothing can separate us from the love of God, wich is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8). Far be it from any of us to take it for granted, but thanks be to God, once Jesus has us, He will lose not one of us, but raise us all up on the last day (John 6:39).

It is surprising that you said that Satan isn't deceiving the nations any longer. Where did you get that idea? Can you explain that to me? I see very plainly that Satan is going full-force throughout the earth, and things keep getting worse and worse.

Certainly:

Revelation 20:1–3 says that a mighty angel from God binds the Devil for a thousand years. Specifically, verse 3 relates that he is bound from deceiving the nations during this period. Something happens to Satan’s ability to keep the nations of earth blinded from seeing who God is, and what His gospel means for them. As a result of Christ’s finished work in dying on the cross, in rising from the dead, in ascending to the Father, and in being crowned on the throne of glory, Satan lost his power to deceive the untold millions of pagans, whom he formerly kept blinded to God’s saving truth.

The ancient story of Job may give us some important insight into this massive reduction of Satan’s power over the heathen nations. Job 1:6–12 portrays Satan as possessing the ability to come into God’s immediate presence along with other angels, or “sons of God� (v.6). He used this place of power to cause great harm to Job. But according to what Christ says in the Gospels, Satan lost that privileged access to the heavenly courts as a result of the incarnation and work of Christ. In Luke 10:18–19, the seventy disciples return with great joy from their successful mission in preaching the gospel, healing the sick, and casting out demons. Christ then explains how they were able to accomplish these wonders: “He said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven’� (v. 18). Jesus explains Satan’s fall in terms of Christian ministry: “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you� (v. 19).

It is significant that the first beings to recognize the incarnate Christ, according to the gospel of Mark, were demons. Mark 1:24 and Luke 4:34 are among the passages that show the demons crying out in terror that the Holy One of God has come to torment them. Jesus explained that when He cast out demons by the Spirit of God (Matt. 12:28–29), it meant that the kingdom of God had come. In His work, He was binding the strong man (that is, the devil), who formerly had been keeping people in the dark and painful prison of unbelief, sin, and certain judgment.

After the Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection, and immediately before His ascension back to the Father, He commissioned the church to “go … and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit� (28:19). They would be able to do this because of Christ’s victory over Satan, who had long blinded the nations, for Jesus said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’ (v. 18). Satan’s illegitimate power over the nations has been wrested from him, and placed into the hands of the legitimate Lord and Savior of the world. Now the Christian church can do its work; it can engage in successful mission all over the world, bringing the good news of freedom from captivity to those who had long been in chains because of sin and unbelief.

Colossians 2:14–15 makes it clear what happened to the powers of evil through Christ’s ministry, especially what He accomplished on the cross: “[He] cancel[ed] the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.� This indicates that wicked powers were defeated in principle at the cross of Christ. When Jesus purged all of our sins on Calvary, something happened to Satan. The evil one lost his authority to keep people back from God. He was bound by what Jesus did.

The missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul into the pagan territories of Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome were successful in turning the once-darkened nations to the saving light of God in Christ on the basis of the binding of Satan. Paul says in Acts 28:28, “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.� That has been the engine of all Christian missions and evangelism from that day to this one.

Grace and peace to you, onewithhim.

[Sojournerofthearth]

[Replying to post 39 by myth-one.com]

Not to take sides here, but personally, I did not find anything you said to be opprobrious... scornful, abusive or critical... but then, I also agreed with most of what you said... but this one thing, gave me pause.

Anyways, this results in the prophesied failure of the church to preach the gospel to all the nations.

what prophesy is that?

Soj

One sign of the end times is that the gospel must first be preached in the entire world before the end of this age, the age of man, occurs:

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)

And the gospel must first be published among all nations. (Mark 13:10)

In fact, what most churches call "The Great Commission" commands Christians to accomplish this very prophecy:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20)

However, even with the internet and communications systems of today, will we ever spread the true gospel among all nations and fulfill the great commission?

Obviously not, since God has to send an angel to fulfill this prophecy before the end of this age can occur:

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. (Revelation 14:6)

If God has to send an angel shortly before the second coming to spread the gospel to all the nations, then the church failed to do so.

The Bible states that it will happen that way. Therefore, it is prophesied.

===============================================

I believe this failure will occur because most churches do not even know the good news of the gospel. Most of humanity suffering everlasting punishment is good news to no one. (just my opinion -- not scriptural)

Thanks for the question & your response.

I agree that most churches have lost sight of what the Gospel was... it was the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God, not a gospel about the man, Jesus... it is the things He Preached, not a story about the man.

But I respectfully disagree that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God has not been preached to the whole world as a witness. I believe it has been done. When Jonah announced the destruction of Nineveh, He wasn't out crying in the streets, he was taken to the King. God deals with the heads of state and they are to instruct their people. They can accept or reject the warning, but if the word went out to the nations leaders, then that would certainly suffice the prophecy, don't you think?

Soj

[brianbbs67]

I would have to choose a Koine word to express it. Agathos. Intrinsically good. We have to choose to do it and still fail. God does it naturally.

https://biblehub.com/str/greek/18.htm

[Sojournerofthearth]

[Replying to post 43 by PinSeeker]

Well, technically, εστε is Ye are being saved... besides, flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God... and you're not saved until you're actually born into that Kingdom.

Not to take sides at all. Just a little something I thought worth mentioning.

Soj

[PinSeeker]

Well, technically, εστε is Ye are being saved... besides, flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God... and you're not saved until you're actually born into that Kingdom.

Not to take sides at all. Just a little something I thought worth mentioning.

Sure. Very worth mentioning. I agree. But again, the nature is what's in view here. Christians have been born into the Kingdom -- given new life in the Spirit. As Peter says:

• "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." [1 Peter 1:3]

Now, we still have the old sinful nature all men are born with, but thanks be to God, we Christians have a new spiritual nature. Henceforth, we struggle against the sinful nature through the rest of our natural-born lives, as Paul makes clear many times.

Regeneration is the divine work of God the Holy Spirit upon the minds and souls of fallen people, by which the Spirit quickens those who are spiritually dead and makes them spiritually alive. This supernatural work rescues that person from his bondage to sin and his moral inability to incline himself towards the things of God. Regeneration, by being a supernatural work, is obviously a work that cannot be accomplished by natural man on his own. Thus Christ's statement that, "With man, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible."

The physical body and the spiritual can coexist in any individual person, just not peacefully in this life. This is what Paul says over and over again in his letters. In this life, if we have been made alive in the spirit -- by the Holy Spirit... this is his initial role in the believer -- we are still contending with our old carnal nature to "put off the old man and put on the new":

• "...in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." [Ephesians 4:22-24]

This is the spiritual war that rages in each of us as believers. Paul describes it graphically:

• "...we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members." [Romans 7:14-23]

We finally cry out like Paul does himself:

• "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" [Romans 7:24]

Grace and peace to you, Sojournerofthearth.

[Sojournerofthearth]

[Replying to post 47 by PinSeeker]

And yet, hold your breath... breathing yet? Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the KOG. Until you can show me that you shine like the sun, I'm not buying that you're already saved.

But, that's just me.... and, well. the Bible.

I used to be a Baptist... once saved... you know.

Soj