Happy Heralds, IncMISUNDERSTOOD MYSTERIES MADE MANIFEST (CLEAR) by Dr. Fred Wittman Scriptural Definition of a mystery: A profound truth that has been hidden or mysterious and not understood in past ages, but revealed to the Apostles and Prophets of Jesus Christ by The Holy Spirit and is now known and understood by the obedient and godly regenerated saints. “According to revelation He made known to me the mystery (according as I wrote before in a few |words|); with reference to which, as you are reading, you are able to comprehend my understanding in the mystery of Christ) which in other generations was not made known to the sons of the humans as now it is being revealed to the holy apostles and prophets of His by means of Spirit; . . . and to illuminate all people a certain thing, the fellowship of the mystery, the one from the ages having been kept secret in The God, Who created the all things through Jesus Christ” (Eph. 3:3-5,9 APT). I. THE MYSTERY OF LIFE INTRODUCTION: From where did we come? How did we get here? When you look at another human, what thoughts come to your mind? Physical features only? Do you observe the spirit or disposition? Regard the soul? When God created human life, He distinguished between other forms of life by providing three aspects. The answer to the question of origin is found in the supernatural revelation of God called the Bible. A. GOD CREATED HUMANS (Gen. 1:26,27; 2:7). “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. . . . And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 1:26,27; 2:7). 1. Created In His IMAGE (representation, replica): a.Created A Tripartite Being: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1;1). The Hebrew word for ‘God’ is Elohim, a uni-plural noun. Hebrew grammar contains three indications for number: singular (one), dual (two and only two) and plural (three or more). Since Elohim is uni-plural, it indicates three in one. All three persons of The Godhead performed a distinct aspect of creation. The Father planned creation (Eph. 1:3,9-11), The Son (The Word) pronounced creation (Jn. 1:1-3 cf. Gen.1:3-20), and The Holy Spirit produced creation (1:2 cf, Job 33:4 Ps. 104:30). Just as The Godhead contains three distinct personalities, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so The God created the human with three aspects which relate to the Godhead: the soul (relating to The Father), the body (relating to The Son), and the spirit (relating to The Holy Spirit). [See chart on The Trinity] b. An Eternally Existing Being (2:7); God created the human as “A living soul.” 2. Created In His LIKENESS (resemblance): The God created the human differently than any other being that He created. Only the human is created in His likeness. He created the human with: a. Attributes (five in all) -- three relate to the mind and three relate to the heart (the will relates to both mind and heart). We are created with five distinct attributes, two of which attributes differ from animals -- the intellect and the moral nature. The five attributes are: Self-consciousness, Intellect, Will, Moral Nature, Emotion; (The God, The Creator Himself possesses all five attributes. No other god does.) and b. Authority (1:26); The God invested the human with authority (‘dominion’) over all created beings on planet Earth. This invested authority is also in His Likeness. 3. With THREE ASPECTS of Life: New Testament (Koiné) Greek uses three words that refer to and are translated ‘life.’ a. PHYSICAL LIFE - Βίοϛ (1 Tim. 2:2; 2 Tim. 2:4; 1 Pet. 4:3) - manner of life, means of life, livelihood, sustenance of life; b. SOUL LIFE- Ψυχή (Jn. 15:13; 1 Jn. 3:16) natural life, the being, one’s own self; c. SPIRITUAL--ETERNAL LIFE - Ζωή (Rom. 8:6,10,11; 6:4; Jn. 5:24) the life of the being, existence, life in the absolute sense. n.b. Read the tract on the website entitled, Do You Know for fuller explanation of three kinds of life! B. GOD COMMANDED HUMANS TO PERFORM TWO THINGS: 1. To PERPETUATE TWO THINGS: a. Life (Gen. 1:28) by reproduction (Eccl. 11:5; Zech. 12:1), “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Gen. 1:28). “As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all” (Eccl. 11:5). “The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him” (Zech. 12:1). b. Truth by proper instruction (Deut. 6:6-9); “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates” (Deut. 6:6-9). If Eve accurately had repeated God’s Word to Satan, the Serpent, she would not have been trapped by his subtle lying. Both Adam and Eve failed to uphold and relate the Truth. Our responsibility is to do just that -- Tell the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth. The last words on the lips of The Lord Jesus Christ were, “But you shall receive miraculous power, after The Holy Spirit alights upon you and you shall be judicial witnesses with reference to Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and as far as last part of the Earth” (Acts 1:8 APT). A judicial witness is expected to tell the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth when ever he is called upon to testify. These responsibilities are incumbent upon The God’s children today. There has been no such rescinding of them anywhere in Scripture. Yet how miserably humans fail especially in relating the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth of The God’s Holy and Precious Word. Like Eve so many today omit little things in our sight, but which are very important in The God’s perspective. Another responsibility of humans, which The God commanded before man’s fall into sin, is 2. To PRESERVE Life (Gen. 2:15-17): “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:15-17). This is to be done by the following means. a. WORKING and guardedly PROTECT: (1) the garden; Man has a responsibility to properly care for the Earth (soil) to see that it reproduces and is kept in condition to do so and not be drained of its nutrients by constant toiling without sabbatical rest. and (2) fellowship with God. The God desires fellowship or communion with humans. That is why He created us and why He created us as He did. That is why He called Adam regularly in the Garden. Adam expected to hear His voice and hid. “And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Gen. 3:9,10). Adam knew the time and the sound of the voice of the LORD God because he heard it many times before. God came routinely in the cool of the day before the heat from the Sun increased. God seeks our consistent fellowship. That is why he sent His Son -- to provide salvation and a way back into fellowship with The God and with his Son, The Lord Jesus Christ. “What we have beheld and we have heard, we repeatedly proclaim to you, in order that yourselves also have fellowship with us. Now the fellowship belonging to us|is| with The Father and with The Son of His, Jesus Christ” (1 Jn. 1:3 APT). That is why He draws humans and summons them to Christ. Jesus said, “Not one is able to come to Me unless The Father Who sent Me draw him” (Jn. 6:44 APT). “The God is faithful, by means of Whom you were summoned into fellowship with The Son of His, Jesus Christ, The Lord of ours” (1 Cor. 1:9). Another aspect of this responsibility to preserve the life which The God created is b. PROMPTLY, PRECISELY, and PERSISTENTLY OBEY. Failure to obey The God’s Word is disobedience. Disobedience and unbelief stem from the same Greek root which means, ‘not persuaded.’ Failure to act positively is Sin and results in death. Your Eternal destiny depends upon your response. Act positively! Promptly, precisely, and persistently obey and insure eternal life, joy and perfect peace forever! Disobey or fail to act positively and you insure your destiny in eternal torment, death, sorrow, and suffering forever! CONCLUSION: Disobedience -- failure by your ancestors and by you to obey The God results in Sin, The God’s Displeasure, Death (physical death in time as well as eternal death ultimately), and finally Judgment before The God’s Great White Throne. Every human’s desperate condition is incurable by oneself or by other humans and insures one’s Eternal Damnation! But there is hope through The God-(Hu)Man The Lord Jesus Christ and His redemptive work on Calvary -- by totally commiting trust to Him for salvation. You must choose between life and death, between obedience to Christ and disobedience. Choose well! Your choice is brief, but endless! To find out how to respond to The Father’s drawing and summons to come to Christ for Salvation and Eternal Life, listen to the webcast titled, “Knowing The Savior #1”! Click on it now! | | understood $singular &plural /the 0no article +masculine ~neuter Return to MISUNDERSTOOD MYSTERIES MADE MANIFEST page... Send mail to Info@HappyHeralds.org
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