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Yes, I do. The Holy Spirit helps me to do so just like it is with all believers.
Meaning- the True knowledge of God conforms us to the Divine Nature, Rom 8:29 1John 4:17
Walking & living in the Spirit, Gal 5:22,23, Ephesians 5:9, They're truly born again of the Incorruptible Seed & sin not 1John 3:9 & those that are not led or have the Spirit are none of His. Rom 8:9
False knowledge does not destroy the works to the devil, but leaves the corrupt Tree standing, meaning the old Adamic nature, the man of sin, because his seed (Satan) remains in him, thus one continues in sin, though he or she is ever so conversant in the letter of the Scriptures.
In love & truth
The Axe laid to the Root of the Corrupt Tree ( 2 Peter 1:4)
THAT the true faith (the faith of the gospel, the faith of the elect, the faith which saves the sinner from sin, and makes him more than a conqueror over sin and the powers of darkness) is a belief in the nature of God; which belief giveth entrance into, fixeth in and causeth an abiding in that nature. Unbelief entereth into death, and fixeth in the death: faith giveth entrance into, and fixeth in the life. Faith is an ingrafting into the vine, a partaking of the nature of the vine, a sucking of the juice of life from the vine; which nothing is able to do but the faith, but the belief in the nature. And nothing can believe in the nature, but what is one with the nature. So then faith is not a believing the history of the scripture, or a believing and applying the promises, or a believing that Christ died for sinners in general, or for me in particular; for all this may be done by the unbelieving nature (like the Jew); but a uniting to the nature of God in Christ, which the unbeliever starts from, in the midst of his believing of these
Yet I do not deny that all these things are to be believed, and are believed with the true faith: but this I affirm, that they also may be believed without the true faith; and that such a belief of these doth not determine a man to be a believer in the sight of God, but only the union with the nature of that life from whence all these sprang, and in which alone they have their true value.
That the true faith springs from the true knowledge, or comes with the true knowledge of the true nature of God in Christ, which it believes in. He can never believe in the nature of God, who hath not first the nature of God revealed to him. If a man search the Scriptures all his days, hear all that can be said by men concerning God, Christ, faith, justification, &c., be able to dispute about them, and think he can make his tenets good against all the world; yet, if he hath not received the true knowledge of the nature of these things, all his professed faith in them cannot be true.
That the true knowledge is only to be had by the immediate revelation of Christ in the soul. No man knows the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the son reveals him. The dead shall hear the voice of the son of God, and they that hear shall live. There is no raising of a dead soul to life, but by the immediate voice of Christ. Outward preaching, reading the Scriptures, &c. may direct and encourage men to hearken after and wait for the voice; but it is the immediate voice of Christ in the soul, which alone can quicken the soul to God: and till the light of life shine immediately from Christ in the heart, the true knowledge is never given. 2 Cor 4:6
Issac Penington
If not, they could possibly pull back into Catholicism and that's not what we want. We want them to to be delivered from darkness and into the truth so we tell them the truth.
The prophet Ezekiel was ministering to the southern kingdom, Judah, & Ezekiel himself was one of the many captives taken to Babylon. So he was re-telling the story of their downfall & their present suffering. If you understand these metaphors, then the picture of this chapter will become clearer.
Verse 2, 'mother, a lioness': is the Kingdom of Judah; 'the lions, whelps': are the kings of Judah. When Judah "brought up one of her whelps, it became a young lion" (v3): referring to King Jehoahaz - for he was taken as a prisoner to Egypt (v4) by Pharaoh-Necho (see 2 Kings 23:31-34 for this account).
Verses 5-9: when Judah waited too long for Jehoahaz to return & all hope was gone, she took "another of her whelps" (Jehoiachin) & made him king. But when Babylon attacked Judah & Jerusalem & took captives, Jehoiachin was also taken with them (v9; also 2 Kings 24:15). Then in verses 10-14, "the mother" Judah is seen as a vine, plucked up in fury by Nebuchadnezzar, because of the rebellion of King Zedekiah ( 2 Kings 24:17-20; Jeremiah 52:3) against Babylon. Verses 11-14: even though Judah was strong, exalted, & stood out as a sceptre, she was soon removed & the branches of the vine were broken off & the vine withered. Therefore, she is in Babylon (as one now planted in the wilderness) & her greatness & that of her kings were now absolutely nothing. So Ezekiel weeps over such devastation of a great kingdom & will forever remain in the minds of the people. But God would give them hope ( Ezekiel 20:33-44).
The following are the fundamental rules of Bible interpretation that the God lays down:
Christ is the author of the Bible. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we behold his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:1,14
...the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit 2 Peter 1:21
Christ spoke in parables (earthly stories with a spiritual meaning). But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. Mark 4:34
We compare spiritual with spiritual. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 1 Corinthians 2:13
As we approach the end of the world, and Christ's return, God is unsealing truths that have been kept sealed until the time of the end. This is spoken of as a vision that will speak at the end and not lie.
Daniel 12:9-10 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Habakkuk 2:2-3 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie:though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
The historical-grammatical method of interpretation is not found in the Bible. It seeks to discover the writer's intended meaning, customs of the times, and the writer's intended audience and thus fails to recognize that God is the author and that the whole Bible is written for us today.
VI. SECTION OUTLINE OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE:
CHAPTER 1:1-4: The Preface.
And by the way, the difference between a preface and prologue is that a preface is an introduction, and a prologue is like a book within a book. When you read the first 18 verses of John's gospel, that is a prologue, not a preface. So, this is a preface. This is an introduction, Verses 1 through 4.
CHAPTER 1:5 THROUGH 2:52: The Pregnancies of Elizabeth and Mary.
CHAPTER 3:1-4:13: The Preparation for the Ministry of both Yochanan ha-Matbil, that is John the Baptist, and Yeshua, for Jesus.
CHAPTER 4:14-9:50: The Preaching of Jesus in Galilee
CHAPTER 9:51-19:27: The Prompting of Jesus toward Jerusalem.
One of my favorite verses is Luke 9:51. When it came time to for Jesus to go to Jerusalem, it says He set His face towards Jerusalem, and that many villages rejected Him because His face was set towards Jerusalem.
As believers, we have to ask ourselves, what is our Jerusalem? What does God want us to do? What are we here for? When you find out what God wants you to do, set your face toward Jerusalem. Don't stop. Don't go to the left or to the right.
And you'll find that people will reject you because you're just passing through. You've got something God wants you to do and you are doing it. Very, very important section! It is almost 10 chapters of people rejecting Jesus because He had His face set towards Jerusalem.
CHAPTER 19:28-21:38: The Preaching of Jesus in Jerusalem. That final week, Passover week.
CHAPTER 22:1-23:56: The Particulars of the Crucifixion of Jesus, His suffering, the different trials, and the actual crucifixion itself.
CHAPTER 24:1-53, THE ENTIRE CHAPTER 24 OF LUKE: The Promise of the Resurrection of Jesus.
That is the Introduction to Luke's Gospel. I will share with you the introduction to the Gospel of John soon, Lord willing!
God Bless!!!
IV. THE THEME OF LUKE
The theme of Luke's gospel is found in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost." He came to seek us, not us Him!
V. RELATION TO OTHER BOOKS:
Many believe it was the third gospel written of the three Synoptics. Luke follows the formation of Matthew and Mark. As a matter of fact, with Matthew, you will find some differences as far as chronological order in these three gospels goes. Luke is the only one that claims to be in the correct sequential order.
Matthew didn't write his gospel as far as the order of events goes. He wrote his gospel according to topics. And so, you find some scenes that are out of place with the other gospels. That is because the other gospels used various incidents to back up the very theme that they were trying to present.
But Luke, his is in exact chronological order as it happened. Matthew, Mark and Luke emphasize the Galilean ministry up north, away from Jerusalem about 60 to 70 miles. That is where Jesus started out. He was baptized and He stayed up there. He came to Jerusalem for some of the feasts that were mandatory, but He didn't spend time in Jerusalem until the last week of His life, when He came to celebrate Passover.
John emphasizes the Judean ministry. And please remember that Judea is that middle part just before you get into Jerusalem from Galilee up north. And Matthew, Mark and Luke emphasize the Galilean ministry, His three years, or two and half years up north. But John emphasizes the Judean ministry.
And it could be that Theophilus, being in the Roman government (a Roman guard maybe), but in the Roman government. But it could be that he was putting together something for Paul because Paul was waiting to have his appeal to Caesar brought about, and he needed an official document of his life, and what he is charged with, and what his response is, even before he sees Caesar.
Many scholars believe that Theophilus was putting this together for Paul, and that Luke was doing it because Theophilus knew Luke, and he knew Luke had been with Paul, and Theophilus was now saved, so the three of them knew each other.
So, when Theophilus comes to Paul and says we got to put some documents together, Paul says, you know, Dr. Luke used to travel with me. Theophilus says "No way, I know him. He is a brother. Yes, contact him. We need something written up." And so many people believe that these two documents actually traveled to Rome originally as court documents, documenting the life and ministry of Christ and Paul.
Now I find this very humorous. I had to mention that first because you might not get it just by reading it. But there are two things by way of characteristics of the gospel that support the trial document view. It is because the way Luke wrote about all the uprisings, all the riots, and that all the trouble was caused by the Jewish leaders. They did it all!
But the second thing he did in his gospel, the centurion soldiers were the good guys. So that makes it look pretty good. So, you are appealing to somebody who is not Jewish when you do this. Interesting note!
III. ABOUT THE GOSPEL:
The gospel of Luke has the highest level of Greek in the New Testament. Not only that, but many scholars hold that Luke is the highest quality of Greek in all ancient literature. That is pretty high! There are 312 Greek words in Luke that are not in the rest of the New Testament. There are 478 Greek words in Acts that are not in the rest of the New Testament.
So that is 790 words that are only found in Luke's writings. Remember, he is a physician, and he is very educated. You can see why, not only because of his medical skills, but also to be a historian for us.
Now in Luke, there are 20 miracles. Six of the 20 miracles are not found in any other gospel. In Luke, there are 23 parables. Of the 23 parables, 18 are not found in any other gospel. That is a lot of new material.
NOW HERE'S AN INTERESTING NOTE:
Sir William Ramsay was a nonbeliever that set out to disprove the scriptures. And he chose the gospel of Luke because it was recommended to him as being the best writing in the New Testament. After investigating Luke, he said that every historical account was correct and that there was not one inaccuracy in it. This is from a nonbeliever. And because of Luke's gospel, he was converted. So, we had a nonbeliever who could research, with a high education, he could search out all of Luke's presentation and find out there was not one inaccuracy in the whole gospel!
Some think that Luke and Acts are trial documents. This is what I meant about the reason why they would travel together as Volumes 1 and 2. If you appealed to Caesar, you had to send explanatory documents of your appeal to Caesar before you get there.
II. ABOUT THE RECIPIENT:
Luke is written specifically to Theophilus, but in general to all Gentiles. Theophilus means "lover of God," THEOS for God, PHILEO for love. It's either a name or title. It was a common name at the time. Many parents named their children Theophilus hoping their kids would love God. It was also used as a title and may have been used in order to hide his identity.
In Luke, he's not just called Theophilus, but "most excellent Theophilus" which means that he was either in the Roman military or Roman government, and he's getting the gospel about Jesus Christ. So, Theophilus could be a title or a code name for someone so that their real identity is not revealed.
His title "Most excellent" is one Greek word. It's found to be a title of an officer in the Roman military and also found as a title for an official in the Roman government. Both are called "most excellent" or "most honorable." The title is used three times in Acts. In Acts 23:26, we see "most excellent governor Felix."
These are all governors of Rome. Acts 24:3, "most noble Felix," and Acts 26:25 "most noble Festus," same word. They held these titles in the Roman military and in the Roman government. He was either a government official or in the military. Tradition says he was from Antioch of Syria. Apparently, Luke and Theophilus knew each other.
Acts was written to Theophilus. Acts 1:1 says, the former treaties (that would be the gospel of Luke), the former treaties that I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach. So, the book of Acts would be to the same person. And what he's saying is that Luke (the first Volume I gave you), was what Jesus began to do and teach. Now here's what He continues to do and teach, and that would be the book of Acts.
It's also interesting that Acts 1:1-11 is a summary statement of Luke Chapter 24. So, they overlap. He goes back and summarizes Luke 24 in Acts Chapter 1:1-11.
I also would like to point out that what I was suggesting about reaching out to those in aberrant sects that are caught up in false teachings is exactly what Paul and the disciples did and they also encouraged others to do so as well. Jesus' commission to the disciples to go out into all the world and teach all nations, preach the gospel, disciple the new believers, baptizing each int eh name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit in Matt 28:18-20. That is what I am referring to in my post. By reaching out of our own comfort level to reach those who are unsaved or who are caught up in sects that teach wrongly about Jesus and salvation, we are obeying what Jesus wanted those who are His disciples (which we all are if we are born again) to do in order to bring the true gospel to those who need it. This means that we may need to do as Jesus did by eating with tax collectors and sinners when He went to Matthew's home to eat a meal. The Pharisees chastised Him for doing so, but Jesus did this in order to bring them to belief in Him. Or how about Peter on the rooftop in Acts 10 who was told by God not to call unclean what He has made clean (referring to the Gentiles) and Peter obeyed and went to Cornelius' home, which devout Jews avoided doing. Peter brought the Gospel to this household and all came to believe, were baptized and received the Holy Spirit.
So, I was speaking of in my last paragraph of witnessing to those who are still in darkness when the Spirit opens up the opportunity to do so. I don't think that this is erroneous at all, as you say. But I do understand what you are saying about being unequally yoked with unbelievers in marriage and other relationships that involve a contract or oath. This is wise.
In 1 Jn 1:6, John is not talking about walking with unbelievers. He is talking about claiming to be in Christ (in the light) but continuing walking in the sinful ways of one who is in darkness (controlled by the sinful nature).
Luke is a Greek name, not Jewish. Many believe that he was a Gentile. In fact, we can be pretty certain that he was. Luke was the only Gentile to be used to write a book of the bible. The best evidence of him being a Gentile is in Colossians 4:11-14. This is where Paul is listing the groups of people, and in Verse 11, he lists those of the circumcision. And so those would be the Jews. But when it gets down to Verse 14, he mentions the Gentiles, and Luke is mentioned in amongst the Gentiles. So that is pretty good proof that Luke was a Gentile.
In Luke's writings, all the way through the gospel of Luke, and all the way up through Acts Chapter 16 Verse 9, he uses the Third Person Plural "they" in his writings. But starting at Acts Chapter 16 Verse 10, he then changes it to "we" (First Person Plural). So, at Acts 16:10, he joins up with Paul at that point and becomes a constant companion with Paul.
Luke joined Paul at Troas. He was probably converted in Troas by Paul, and he becomes Paul's personal physician. What is interesting is that in Acts Chapter 27, in that famous shipwreck that we read about and study and hear about, Luke also was on board that ship.
And it is interesting because you can't have guests accompany you, especially when you're a prisoner on your way to Rome. So, it is believed that Luke went along as a slave. You can have your slave, but you can't have your friends. But Luke was with him all the way. He joined up with him in Troas, doctored him, and was with him during a lot of the things that happened in Paul's ministry and life.
Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. They originally traveled together as Volume 1 and Volume 2. And Luke goes as far back as you can go in the beginning of the Lord's life and ministry. And he'll take us all the way up to, or right at the death of Paul. That is a lot of space. Luke is our historian. Luke was a very educated man, and he likes to deal in detail because he wants the Gentile world, that is you and I, to have the facts of the details about the life and ministry of Christ.
Luke, along with Acts, was written to the Gentiles. It was written to present Jesus as the Son of Man and ends with the promise of the Holy Spirit. And you will notice that both with Luke and John, they end off with the event that introduces their sequel that comes secondly. For Luke it will be the book of Acts. He ends Luke with the promise of the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts starts out with the coming of the Holy Spirit.
I. AUTHOR
Luke is the author. Luke is only mentioned three times in the New Testament. None of his letters contain his name. Luke wrote both Luke and Acts. And as mentioned before, Luke and Acts traveled together as Volume 1 and Volume 2. And I will share with you in a moment some pretty good evidence as to why it happened that way.
Colossians 4:14 says that Luke was a physician. Paul called him a physician, a doctor. He was a doctor from Antioch of Syria. We know from historical records that Luke was schooled in Alexandria, Egypt. He became very proficient in the Greek language, as the Greek language was spoken there.
This is the same city where they made the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament). Luke became an expert in Greek. God chose an educated man to do a very, very detailed investigation. Keep in mind that Luke is an investigator, not an eyewitness.
In my post I was talking about fellowshipping with those who are born again. Even those who remain in the Catholic church situation for now. We cannot call them unclean or of the darkness as you imply. We cannot go around judging whether or not others are truly saved simply by which church they currently attend. We will know by their profession of faith in Jesus and by their fruits. We also may understand that they may be very young in the way of the Lord and need to be helped in their study of the Scriptures. That was what I was saying in my post. We are to be ready on any occasion to give an answer to those who ask us the reason for the hope that is within us (Jesus) ( 1 Peter 3:15).
Ladybug, you have made judgement on my post but say you did not read the whole post. You can check what I have said to Scripture. Until you do that, I think that you should hold your judgment of me and my ideas I presented.
I wish you well and hope to converse with you more over time.
I agree, every true believer is one who has been born again, reborn, regenerated (as I stated) these terms all mean the same thing as to the work of the Holy Spirit to make humans that were dead in their sins, alive in their spirits to have right fellowship with God.
Ephesians 3:3-4.
The word Mystery in the Greek is used a little different than the way we use the word.
Mystery in the Greek is "musterion" it means something divine that has been unknown up until now but is here now being divinely revealed. "Christ IN US" " The kingdom is at hand" And the kingdom is within you etc.
When God mentions Israel in the OT, he's talking about The Nation of Israel associated with the land.
Are the 12 tribes of Israel a idiom for the Church as well?
Who are those out of the Church is called the remnant of Israel?
When did God scatter them (The Church) among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries?
When God is talking about Israel, he us NEVER talking about the Church. In fact, he makes a great distinction between Israel and the Church. Those who are post cross "Jew and Gentiles make up the Church. However, that union was hid in the OT, Salvation to the Gentiles was mentioned but not as one body. Also, the Church never had geographic land! So how can you bring them back from all nations to the "land" of Israel. The land of Israel belongs to the 12 tribes of Israel. scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries:
Can Jeremiah 16:14-15 be applied to the Church?
"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
But The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers."
Jeremiah 23:5 makes it clear along with many other verses.
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
God bless.
Proposition 2;
Seeing "no man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son revealeth him"; and seeing the "revelation of the Son is in and by the Spirit" ( Matt. 11:27); therefore the testimony of the Spirit is that alone by which the true knowledge of God hath been, is, and can be only revealed; who as, by the moving of his own Spirit, he disposed the chaos of this world into that wonderful order wherein it was in the beginning, and created man a living soul, to rule and govern it, so, by the revelation of the same Spirit, he hath manifested himself all along unto the sons of men, both patriarchs, prophets, and apostles; which revelations of God by the Spirit, whether by outward voices and appearances, dreams, or inward objective manifestations in the heart, were of old the formal object of their faith, and remain yet so to be, since the object of the saints' faith is the same in all ages, though held forth under divers administrations. Moreover, these divine inward revelations, which we make absolutely necessary for the building up of true faith, neither do nor can ever contradict the outward testimony of the Scriptures, or right and sound reason. Yet from hence it will not follow, that the divine revelations are to be subjected to the test, either of the outward testimony of the Scriptures, or of the natural reason of man, as to a more noble or certain rule and touchstone; for this divine revelation and inward illumination, is that which is evident and clear of itself, forcing, by its own evidence and clearness, the well-disposed understanding to assent, irresistibly moving the same thereunto, even as the common principles of natural truths do move and incline the mind to a natural assent: as, that the whole is greater than its part, that two contradictories can neither be both true, nor both false.
Robert Barclay 1678