WHERE IS KING DAVID? [935g]

Along with Stephen and Lazarus who have been shown to be “asleep” meaning they are DEAD, we have the description of King David in Acts where not only is he shown to be “asleep” and “dead” but also that his body DECAYED. HE decayed. Acts 13-36.

At what point will people cease to continue to try and assign a continuation of identity beyond the grave, which is unsupported by scripture?

David had served the purpose of God.

David fell asleep.

David was laid among his fathers.

David underwent decay.

WHERE IS DAVID?  In the ground, decayed, dust. (“Asleep”).

[Otherwise, what would be the point of “resurrection”?][Christ the first fruits, then when he comes… those that belong to him.][But I go to wake him up]

Acts 13:36 “For David, after he had served the purposes of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid amongst his fathers, and underwent decay;…”.  DAVID UNDERWENT DECAY. Not “his body”, “HIM.”

Acts 2:29 “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.”

Acts.2:30 “And so, because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants* upon his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ*, that he was neither abandoned to Hades, [place of the dead] nor did his flesh suffer decay”.

FURTHER.    1 Corinth. 15:6  After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;…”

12. “Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 17. and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

20. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ, ALL shall be made alive.

23. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming.”

51. ” …..we shall not all sleep, [death] but we shall all be changed, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and WE shall be changed.”.

56.57. “The sting of death is SIN, and the POWER of sin is THE LAW; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

AND.  1 Thess. 4: 13  “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. 14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the DEAD in Christ will rise first.. 17. Then we who are [ still ] ALIVE and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.”.

WHERE IS KING DAVID? [935f]

Along with Stephen and Lazarus who have been shown to be “asleep” meaning they are DEAD, we have the description of King David in Acts where not only is he shown to be “asleep” and “dead” but also that his body DECAYED. HE decayed. Acts 13-36.

At what point will people cease to continue to try and assign a continuation of identity beyond the grave, which is unsupported by scripture?

David had served the purpose of God.

David fell asleep.

David was laid among his fathers.

David underwent decay.

WHERE IS DAVID?  In the ground, decayed, dust. (“Asleep”).

[Otherwise, what would be the point of “resurrection”?][Christ the first fruits, then when he comes… those that belong to him.][But I go to wake him up]

Acts 13:36 “For David, after he had served the purposes of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid amongst his fathers, and underwent decay;…”.  DAVID UNDERWENT DECAY. Not “his body”, “HIM.”

Acts 2:29 “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.”

Acts.2:30 “And so, because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants* upon his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ*, that he was neither abandoned to Hades, [place of the dead] nor did his flesh suffer decay”.

THE FUNCTION OF CONFLICT IN SPIRITUAL GROWTH [1587b]

Conflict without an outcome is futile activity. The problem without the solution remains a problem, and if that problem is you, or is IN you, then this becomes an immense frustration to yourself and to others around you. But most people are caught up in this situation of conflict without resolution, which means we are continually in conflict, and it is the conflict itself that then becomes the “hallmark” of our existence, of our “life”.

The function of conflict is that of spiritual growth, to resolve and to bring to resolution whatever it is that exists that is the cause of that conflict.

Typical of this can be seen in “The law” which is said to bring “Wrath”. Where we have two opposing sides, their viewpoints or their points of opposition cause AGITATION* of the elements involved. The two opposing sides come from the difference between what is right and what is wrong, GOD’S will compared to OUR will, with all the ensuing negative activity that results.

So firstly there has to be a recognition, a consciousness that two opposing sides exist. Then there has to be a way of resolution as a means of dissolving those differences so that the two viewpoints reduce to one. Conflict in man came from Adam and continued through to the present time. Identifying the opposing forces is a start to resolution, and then the way to overcome them must be instigated in a manner which leaves no doubt as to the importance of bringing all conflict to a conclusion (end).

To have a conflict or conflicted consciousness causes division in that consciousness itself, it cannot effectively perform anything at all, but if left to itself it can have severe effects on the individual concerned. Where an individual might for some reason, either physiological or psychological, have some predisposition towards confliction, any pressure on them from external sources can result in major effects on mental health.

Jesus came as a manifestation of LOVE to resolve the conflict, and it is interesting that although conflict comes by opposing “LAWS”, that these very “laws” had a spiritual source, that being, the nature of LOVE, which is God. So while initially the nature of the conflict was revealed by “laws”, through the manifestation of Jesus this conflict was expanded and expounded on, being that LOVE is the “ultimate law”.

Man’s problem then, is that he is hiding from LOVE, in his hiding from God.

So the law came to expose “sin” (the products of having deviated from God’s will [love]), but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. You will note that He said about ‘the law says not to commit adultery, but I say that even if a man LOOKS at a woman the ‘wrong’ way, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart’. So the “offence” or degree of “conflict” is INCREASED even beyond the law.

So the Spirit (Jesus) opens up the eyes to the difference between what is man’s will and what is God’s will. Self salvation therefore becomes impossible to man, and only possible through God’s intervention on his behalf. Jesus FULFILLED the law, which had become to us “the law of sin and death”. And by fulfilling it by His LOVE, abolished it. He entered into the ultimate conflict by confronting with His love, the products of darkness, the sin of humanity, [works of the flesh] and resolved it by changing it into conformity with Himself, with His own nature, His own will, by His LOVE, which is the Spirit. And then He made this self same Spirit AVAILABLE TO US in whom lies the solution to the conflict, by presenting the very result of that conflict resolution to us as a finished product. “It is finished”. [“Without me you can do nothing”]

The conflicts that Jesus encountered in His own life, were to grow Him in standing, in wisdom and knowledge, in grace and love, and in the power of the Spirit. Until He was ready to confront “the enemy” and to destroy “him” by the application of His love. He became a life giving Spirit. In this way also does He come to us, if we allow Him. In this manner do we leave the source of our discomfit, the conflict between our nature and His, by accepting forgiveness for our “old” self, and then cleaving to the “new” self which He has given us in the Spirit that he is as a free gift of life.

The “wrath” [conflict] that the old nature feels through law, is now by the forgiveness of ALL transgressions against ALL “laws”, revealed to have actually been God’s love ‘at work’, first ON us, and now IN us. The love that God IS has always ‘been at work’ for our benefit, to bring His creation to maturity and fulfillment. During our lives, He works progressively to expose right from wrong, in the hope that we will respond to Him. Those who accept His redemption through Christ are “crossed over” from death to life, and the indwelling Spirit then continues to grow them by ongoing confrontation with anything of them which is not of HIM. [Conflict].

So a process of “sanctification” is at work, a moulding and growing into His image, the image He has given to us as His children. Over time and at the end of one’s lifetime, the finished product is available. But for those who continually refuse His salvation and correction, His love will come upon them suddenly, in force as that which is foreign to their own natural sinful nature, and the inherent conflict will be resolved instantly in smoke and ashes, and unfortunately they will be caught in that original nature instead of being in [His] new nature .

So CONFLICT is a state of opposition caused between that which is of God, and that which is NOT of God, and proceeds forth from the realities created by the difference between the two “wills” involved. it comes from sin, which unfortunately is inevitable when a free will is brought into existence. As soon as God said “do not touch”, sin was instantly birthed in Adam and Eve, and we became a lost people. From that time forward, CONFLICT was to exist within man himself, exacerbated by God’s further promptings to man of His requirements and of the difference between us and Himself.

CONFLICT is inevitably NECESSARY so that the resolution of it emerges in God’s favour, that HIS will be done, be proven, and no one else’s.

The revealing of Jesus was to bring to our understanding the terrible nature of this “conflict” and the terrible nature of its OUTCOME if we remain in it WITHOUT HIM, and to provide us with the freewill choice of our death or His life, to allow Him to take our death and then to give us His life, OR NOT.

That in Him having provided all that is necessary to restore us to health, that being life itself, really life HIMSELF, that we either now accept or reject HIM, who is our life. By rejecting HIM, we reject OURSELVES.

THE CONFLICT WAS RESOLVED IN CHRIST’S BODY – GOD INSISTS THAT WE ACCEPT THIS AS FINAL.

[* Agitation – the internal warring within the mind of dissenting thought patterns and mindsets – the pressure brought about by the clashing of two identities.][Man is really only given freewill when he comes into the knowledge of the gospel – before this he is a SLAVE to sin whose “will” is in captivity, in bondage to law flesh sin and death][Agitation in physics brings about friction and heat (“Our God is a consuming fire“), in people it brings about stress and anguish, results in worry, anxiety and depression].

Peace is the absence of conflict.

THE FUNCTION OF CONFLICT IN SPIRITUAL GROWTH [1587a]

Conflict without an outcome is futile activity. The problem without the solution remains a problem, and if that problem is you, or is IN you, then this becomes an immense frustration to yourself and to others around you. But most people are caught up in this situation of conflict without resolution, which means we are continually in conflict, and it is the conflict itself that then becomes the “hallmark” of our existence, of our “life”.

The function of conflict is that of spiritual growth, to resolve and to bring to resolution whatever it is that exists that is the cause of that conflict.

Typical of this can be seen in “The law” which is said to bring “Wrath”. Where we have two opposing sides, their viewpoints or their points of opposition cause AGITATION* of the elements involved. The two opposing sides come from the difference between what is right and what is wrong, GOD’S will compared to OUR will, with all the ensuing negative activity that results.

So firstly there has to be a recognition, a consciousness that two opposing sides exist. Then there has to be a way of resolution as a means of dissolving those differences so that the two viewpoints reduce to one. Conflict in man came from Adam and continued through to the present time. Identifying the opposing forces is a start to resolution, and then the way to overcome them must be instigated in a manner which leaves no doubt as to the importance of bringing all conflict to a conclusion (end).

To have a conflict or conflicted consciousness causes division in that consciousness itself, it cannot effectively perform anything at all, but if left to itself it can have severe effects on the individual concerned. Where an individual might for some reason, either physiological or psychological, have some predisposition towards confliction, any pressure on them from external sources can result in major effects on mental health.

Jesus came as a manifestation of LOVE to resolve the conflict, and it is interesting that although conflict comes by opposing “LAWS”, that these very “laws” had a spiritual source, that being, the nature of LOVE, which is God. So while initially the nature of the conflict was revealed by “laws”, through the manifestation of Jesus this conflict was expanded and expounded on, being that LOVE is the “ultimate law”.

Man’s problem then, is that he is hiding from LOVE, in his hiding from God.

So the law came to expose “sin” (the products of having deviated from God’s will [love]), but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. You will note that He said about ‘the law says not to commit adultery, but I say that even if a man LOOKS at a woman the ‘wrong’ way, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart’. So the “offence” or degree of “conflict” is INCREASED even beyond the law.

So the Spirit (Jesus) opens up the eyes to the difference between what is man’s will and what is God’s will. Self salvation therefore becomes impossible to man, and only possible through God’s intervention on his behalf. Jesus FULFILLED the law, which had become to us “the law of sin and death”. And by fulfilling it by His LOVE, abolished it. He entered into the ultimate conflict by confronting with His love, the products of darkness, the sin of humanity, [works of the flesh] and resolved it by changing it into conformity with Himself, with His own nature, His own will, by His LOVE, which is the Spirit. And then He made this self same Spirit AVAILABLE TO US in whom lies the solution to the conflict, by presenting the very result of that conflict resolution to us as a finished product. “It is finished”. [“Without me you can do nothing”]

The conflicts that Jesus encountered in His own life, were to grow Him in standing, in wisdom and knowledge, in grace and love, and in the power of the Spirit. Until He was ready to confront “the enemy” and to destroy “him” by the application of His love. He became a life giving Spirit. In this way also does He come to us, if we allow Him. In this manner do we leave the source of our discomfit, the conflict between our nature and His, by accepting forgiveness for our “old” self, and then cleaving to the “new” self which He has given us in the Spirit that he is as a free gift of life.

The “wrath” [conflict] that the old nature feels through law, is now by the forgiveness of ALL transgressions against ALL “laws”, revealed to have actually been God’s love ‘at work’, first ON us, and now IN us. The love that God IS has always ‘been at work’ for our benefit, to bring His creation to maturity and fulfillment. During our lives, He works progressively to expose right from wrong, in the hope that we will respond to Him. Those who accept His redemption through Christ are “crossed over” from death to life, and the indwelling Spirit then continues to grow them by ongoing confrontation with anything of them which is not of HIM. [Conflict].

So a process of “sanctification” is at work, a moulding and growing into His image, the image He has given to us as His children. Over time and at the end of one’s lifetime, the finished product is available. But for those who continually refuse His salvation and correction, His love will come upon them suddenly, in force as that which is foreign to their own natural sinful nature, and the inherent conflict will be resolved instantly in smoke and ashes, and unfortunately they will be caught in that original nature instead of being in [His] new nature .

So CONFLICT is a state of opposition caused between that which is of God, and that which is NOT of God, and proceeds forth from the realities created by the difference between the two “wills” involved. it comes from sin, which unfortunately is inevitable when a free will is brought into existence. As soon as God said “do not touch”, sin was instantly birthed in Adam and Eve, and we became a lost people. From that time forward, CONFLICT was to exist within man himself, exacerbated by God’s further promptings to man of His requirements and of the difference between us and Himself.

CONFLICT is inevitably NECESSARY so that the resolution of it emerges in God’s favour, that HIS will be done, be proven, and no one else’s.

The revealing of Jesus was to bring to our understanding the terrible nature of this “conflict” and the terrible nature of its OUTCOME if we remain in it WITHOUT HIM, and to provide us with the freewill choice of our death or His life, to allow Him to take our death and then to give us His life, OR NOT.

That in Him having provided all that is necessary to restore us to health, that being life itself, really life HIMSELF, that we either now accept or reject HIM, who is our life. By rejecting HIM, we reject OURSELVES.

THE CONFLICT WAS RESOLVED IN CHRIST’S BODY – GOD INSISTS THAT WE ACCEPT THIS AS FINAL.

[* Agitation – the internal warring within the mind of dissenting thought patterns and mindsets – the pressure brought about by the clashing of two identities.][Man is really only given freewill when he comes into the knowledge of the gospel – before this he is a SLAVE to sin whose “will” is in captivity, in bondage to law flesh sin and death][Agitation in physics brings about friction and heat (“Our God is a consuming fire“), in people it brings about stress and anguish, results in worry, anxiety and depression].

Peace is the absence of conflict.

THE FUNCTION OF CONFLICT IN SPIRITUAL GROWTH [1587]

Conflict without an outcome is futile activity. The problem without the solution remains a problem, and if that problem is you, or is IN you, then this becomes an immense frustration to yourself and to others around you. But most people are caught up in this situation of conflict without resolution, which means we are continually in conflict, and it is the conflict itself that then becomes the “hallmark” of our existence, of our “life”.

The function of conflict is that of spiritual growth, to resolve and to bring to resolution whatever it is that exists that is the cause of that conflict.

Typical of this can be seen in “The law” which is said to bring “Wrath”. Where we have two opposing sides, their viewpoints or their points of opposition cause AGITATION* of the elements involved. The two opposing sides come from the difference between what is right and what is wrong, GOD’S will compared to OUR will, with all the ensuing negative activity that results.

So firstly there has to be a recognition, a consciousness that two opposing sides exist. Then there has to be a way of resolution as a means of dissolving those differences so that the two viewpoints reduce to one. Conflict in man came from Adam and continued through to the present time. Identifying the opposing forces is a start to resolution, and then the way to overcome them must be instigated in a manner which leaves no doubt as to the importance of bringing all conflict to a conclusion (end).

To have a conflict or conflicted consciousness causes division in that consciousness itself, it cannot effectively perform anything at all, but if left to itself it can have severe effects on the individual concerned. Where an individual might for some reason, either physiological or psychological, have some predisposition towards confliction, any pressure on them from external sources can result in major effects on mental health.

Jesus came as a manifestation of LOVE to resolve the conflict, and it is interesting that although conflict comes by opposing “LAWS”, that these very “laws” had a spiritual source, that being, the nature of LOVE, which is God. So while initially the nature of the conflict was revealed by “laws”, through the manifestation of Jesus this conflict was expanded and expounded on, being that LOVE is the “ultimate law”.

Man’s problem then, is that he is hiding from LOVE, in his hiding from God.

So the law came to expose “sin” (the products of having deviated from God’s will [love]), but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. You will note that He said about ‘the law says not to commit adultery, but I say that even if a man LOOKS at a woman the ‘wrong’ way, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart’. So the “offence” or degree of “conflict” is INCREASED even beyond the law.

So the Spirit (Jesus) opens up the eyes to the difference between what is man’s will and what is God’s will. Self salvation therefore becomes impossible to man, and only possible through God’s intervention on his behalf. Jesus FULFILLED the law, which had become to us “the law of sin and death”. And by fulfilling it by His LOVE, abolished it. He entered into the ultimate conflict by confronting with His love, the products of darkness, the sin of humanity, [works of the flesh] and resolved it by changing it into conformity with Himself, with His own nature, His own will, by His LOVE, which is the Spirit. And then He made this self same Spirit AVAILABLE TO US in whom lies the solution to the conflict, by presenting the very result of that conflict resolution to us as a finished product. “It is finished”. [“Without me you can do nothing”]

The conflicts that Jesus encountered in His own life, were to grow Him in standing, in wisdom and knowledge, in grace and love, and in the power of the Spirit. Until He was ready to confront “the enemy” and to destroy “him” by the application of His love. He became a life giving Spirit. In this way also does He come to us, if we allow Him. In this manner do we leave the source of our discomfit, the conflict between our nature and His, by accepting forgiveness for our “old” self, and then cleaving to the “new” self which He has given us in the Spirit that he is as a free gift of life.

The “wrath” [conflict] that the old nature feels through law, is now by the forgiveness of ALL transgressions against ALL “laws”, revealed to have actually been God’s love ‘at work’, first ON us, and now IN us. The love that God IS has always ‘been at work’ for our benefit, to bring His creation to maturity and fulfillment. During our lives, He works progressively to expose right from wrong, in the hope that we will respond to Him. Those who accept His redemption through Christ are “crossed over” from death to life, and the indwelling Spirit then continues to grow them by ongoing confrontation with anything of them which is not of HIM. [Conflict].

So a process of “sanctification” is at work, a moulding and growing into His image, the image He has given to us as His children. Over time and at the end of one’s lifetime, the finished product is available. But for those who continually refuse His salvation and correction, His love will come upon them suddenly, in force as that which is foreign to their own natural sinful nature, and the inherent conflict will be resolved instantly in smoke and ashes, and unfortunately they will be caught in that original nature instead of being in [His] new nature .

So CONFLICT is a state of opposition caused between that which is of God, and that which is NOT of God, and proceeds forth from the realities created by the difference between the two “wills” involved. it comes from sin, which unfortunately is inevitable when a free will is brought into existence. As soon as God said “do not touch”, sin was instantly birthed in Adam and Eve, and we became a lost people. From that time forward, CONFLICT was to exist within man himself, exacerbated by God’s further promptings to man of His requirements and of the difference between us and Himself.

CONFLICT is inevitably NECESSARY so that the resolution of it emerges in God’s favour, that HIS will be done, be proven, and no one else’s.

The revealing of Jesus was to bring to our understanding the terrible nature of this “conflict” and the terrible nature of its OUTCOME if we remain in it WITHOUT HIM, and to provide us with the freewill choice of our death or His life, to allow Him to take our death and then to give us His life, OR NOT.

That in Him having provided all that is necessary to restore us to health, that being life itself, really life HIMSELF, that we either now accept or reject HIM, who is our life. By rejecting HIM, we reject OURSELVES.

THE CONFLICT WAS RESOLVED IN CHRIST’S BODY – GOD INSISTS THAT WE ACCEPT THIS AS FINAL.

[* Agitation – the internal warring within the mind of dissenting thought patterns and mindsets – the pressure brought about by the clashing of two identities.][Man is really only given freewill when he comes into the knowledge of the gospel – before this he is a SLAVE to sin whose “will” is in captivity, in bondage to law flesh sin and death][Agitation in physics brings about friction and heat (“Our God is a consuming fire“), in people it brings about stress and anguish, results in worry, anxiety and depression].

Peace is the absence of conflict.

HOW CAN THE SOLUTION PRECEDE THE PROBLEM? [1586a]

Just another thought 🙂 In Romans 7 “They” are trying to say that the solution preceded the problem – which it did, but then it is a matter of timing as to when the consciousness of the problem and the solution to that problem appeared. The problem always precedes the solution, so consciousness of the solution means a corresponding consciousness of the problem to which it is the solution. In this case, although Jesus had “solved the problem” for us, it took time for the knowledge of this to spread. This is called “the gospel”.

Knowledge of “The Law” and of sin was available long before Jesus came, and consciousness of it was ever present to the Jews, of whom Paul was one. But then “they” present Paul as a Christian, still grappling with issues arising out of “The Law”, which are the very issues that Jesus came to solve for us. Paul’s consciousness was of law flesh sin and death, of failure due to bondage to the law of sin and death. Rom.7:5 agrees with the previous verses/chapters in being a past event, in being “the problem”. And then Rom. 7:6 brings us up to date with the solution, speaking of being released from bondage to law, so that we now serve in newness of the Spirit and not in bondage to that written law [see Rom.8:1,2.]. (This really should have been designated as being the end of chapter 6). So this is the conclusion to the law/grace saga right here, but Paul does not leave it at that.

Rom.7:7 is really the start of Romans 7. And Paul begins to examine “The Problem“, which is how natural man behaves under law. He was going back to see just what the law was all about (and to see how and why it had to be replaced with grace).”What shall we say about the law then, is it sin?” So He is obviously not at all considering “the solution” as given in 7:6, he is going to explain “the problem” of 7:5. You cannot examine these two things at the same time, they are exclusive to one another, are mutually exclusive.

So he examines the problem of slavery to sin under the law, and when he has finished, he reiterates the solution to it, with a great exclamation of release and thankfulness. Which is simply an interjection at the end of his explanation, to show that there IS an answer, which is Jesus! Rom.8:1,2 provides the final concluding statement, which is that because natural man is trying to “serve two masters” (two laws) in 7:25, he is now released from one of them, [the law of sin and death] which frees him up to properly serve the other [the law of (God) the Spirit of life].

[The fact that Paul is the author of all this, displaying complete mastery and command of the subject matter involved, makes ludicrous the debate about whether he was speaking before or after he was converted, or as from one position or the other, as Christian or as slave under the law, or as to the timing of this as past or present, because HE WROTE IT ALL, he knew all there was to know about this subject and was in complete control of what He was saying. Unfortunately it remains true as it is written elsewhere, that “there are some things Paul writes which are hard to understand…”][Which people then twist..]

[14. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, (which has been) sold into bondage to sin. Sin has made me its slave. But Jesus bought me back out of that slavery, released me from its bondage.]

[You are not your own, you have been bought with a price]

THE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTION ARE BOTH GIVEN SIMULTANEOUSLY [1585a]

The problem of who we are by natural nature, appears alongside of the solution to that problem. God gave us both the problem, the enigma of who we are because of freewill, of choice, where we chose the evil; AND the solution to it.

The PROBLEM is that which we “wear” daily in our ‘normal’ experience of life, the outworking of the faulty creatures we BECAME by our ‘wrong belief’, the belief in the lie instead of in the truth: And the SOLUTION is that which God gave from the beginning, IE to BELIEVE in the truth and not the lie, anymore.

The RIGHT belief will overpower the WRONG belief system, way of thinking, and we will throw our reliance onto the God who was from the very beginning, instead of the ‘god of corruption’ whom we created through the possibilities presented to us by our ‘free will’ thought processes.

GOD puts up the solution high on a cross of wood, to be seen by all. JESUS becomes our solution to our problem, as He provides, HAS PROVIDED the way the truth and the life, by which we can follow into an eternity of real life, called “the kingdom of God”.

The problem has become firmly established, in us, now the solution to it must also become firmly established IN US.

We do not have to create the solution, HE HAS DONE THIS, and He has ENACTED all that is necessary for our participation in LIFE, and this participation is to be had by the simplicity of BELIEVING in what He has ALREADY DONE. Which also amounts to believing in WHO HE IS.

Through the cross of Christ HE HAS PURCHASED US, He has BOUGHT us, and we are to “own” this, just as He “owns” us, as we submit ourselves to His “purchase” of us, that He has bought us back from death through the body of His Son.

The only “condition” (there are none) is for us to BELIEVE HIS TRUTH, to believe Him, that we HAVE ALREADY BEEN “REDEEMED”, saved, by that which He has done and said by that which HE IS.

We agree and believe, or we disagree, disbelieve and perish in the death in which we already ARE. We are given the new choice, once again, of accepting or rejecting Him who is righteous, and His way planned for us to follow. Just as Adam wandered off the path of integrity and we suffered because of it, now we are presented with our own valid choice of the FREE GIFT of life which is in His Son, and which IS His Son, who has initiated REDEMPTION, SALVATION from that which we are to that which He is.

We are familiar enough with the “problem”, we are now well able to recognise the solution to it as it has been presented to us in the form of our “body of death” having now been neutralised in and by HIS body of death on our behalf. Thus enabling a new Spirit of life within us.

BELIEF is the power that shifts us from death to life, by FAITH we “cross over from death to life”. There was a natural birth, there is now a spiritual birth to be freely had simply by BELIEVING HIM, thereby altering the old way we used to think, to the new way we now think. From the old self that we were, to the new self THAT HE SAYS WE HAVE BEEN POSITIONED TO BE, and God does not lie.

HE HAS ALREADY DONE IT. We have to ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, that He HAS saved us. ALREADY. Or we can deny it, deny HIM, the “author of life” and deny Him the right to “author life” in us.

[There is now only life because death has been dealt with][We are in denial of who we really are, children of God]

THE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTION ARE BOTH GIVEN SIMULTANEOUSLY [1585]

The problem of who we are by natural nature, appears alongside of the solution to that problem. God gave us both the problem, the enigma of who we are because of freewill, of choice, where we chose the evil; AND the solution to it.

The PROBLEM is that which we “wear” daily in our ‘normal’ experience of life, the outworking of the faulty creatures we BECAME by our ‘wrong belief’, the belief in the lie instead of in the truth: And the SOLUTION is that which God gave from the beginning, IE to BELIEVE in the truth and not the lie, anymore.

The RIGHT belief will overpower the WRONG belief system, way of thinking, and we will throw our reliance onto the God who was from the very beginning, instead of the ‘god of corruption’ whom we created through the possibilities presented to us by our ‘free will’ thought processes.

GOD puts up the solution high on a cross of wood, to be seen by all. JESUS becomes our solution to our problem, as He provides, HAS PROVIDED the way the truth and the life, by which we can follow into an eternity of real life, called “the kingdom of God”.

The problem has become firmly established, in us, now the solution to it must also become firmly established IN US.

We do not have to create the solution, HE HAS DONE THIS, and He has ENACTED all that is necessary for our participation in LIFE, and this participation is to be had by the simplicity of BELIEVING in what He has ALREADY DONE. Which also amounts to believing in WHO HE IS.

Through the cross of Christ HE HAS PURCHASED US, He has BOUGHT us, and we are to “own” this, just as He “owns” us, as we submit ourselves to His “purchase” of us, that He has bought us back from death through the body of His Son.

The only “condition” (there are none) is for us to BELIEVE HIS TRUTH, to believe Him, that we HAVE ALREADY BEEN “REDEEMED”, saved, by that which He has done and said by that which HE IS.

We agree and believe, or we disagree, disbelieve and perish in the death in which we already ARE. We are given the new choice, once again, of accepting or rejecting Him who is righteous, and His way planned for us to follow. Just as Adam wandered off the path of integrity and we suffered because of it, now we are presented with our own valid choice of the FREE GIFT of life which is in His Son, and which IS His Son, who has initiated REDEMPTION, SALVATION from that which we are to that which He is.

We are familiar enough with the “problem”, we are now well able to recognise the solution to it as it has been presented to us in the form of our “body of death” having now been neutralised in and by HIS body of death on our behalf. Thus enabling a new Spirit of life within us.

BELIEF is the power that shifts us from death to life, by FAITH we “cross over from death to life”. There was a natural birth, there is now a spiritual birth to be freely had simply by BELIEVING HIM, thereby altering the old way we used to think, to the new way we now think. From the old self that we were, to the new self THAT HE SAYS WE HAVE BEEN POSITIONED TO BE, and God does not lie.

HE HAS ALREADY DONE IT. We have to ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, that He HAS saved us. ALREADY. Or we can deny it, deny HIM, the “author of life” and deny Him the right to “author life” in us.

[There is now only life because death has been dealt with][We are in denial of who we really are, children of God]

HOW CAN THE SOLUTION PRECEDE THE PROBLEM? [1586]

Just another thought 🙂 In Romans 7 “They” are trying to say that the solution preceded the problem – which it did, but then it is a matter of timing as to when the consciousness of the problem and the solution to that problem appeared. The problem always precedes the solution, so consciousness of the solution means a corresponding consciousness of the problem to which it is the solution. In this case, although Jesus had “solved the problem” for us, it took time for the knowledge of this to spread. This is called “the gospel”.

Knowledge of “The Law” and of sin was available long before Jesus came, and consciousness of it was ever present to the Jews, of whom Paul was one. But then “they” present Paul as a Christian, still grappling with issues arising out of “The Law”, which are the very issues that Jesus came to solve for us. Paul’s consciousness was of law flesh sin and death, of failure due to bondage to the law of sin and death. Rom.7:5 agrees with the previous verses/chapters in being a past event, in being “the problem”. And then Rom. 7:6 brings us up to date with the solution, speaking of being released from bondage to law, so that we now serve in newness of the Spirit and not in bondage to that written law [see Rom.8:1,2.]. (This really should have been designated as being the end of chapter 6). So this is the conclusion to the law/grace saga right here, but Paul does not leave it at that.

Rom.7:7 is really the start of Romans 7. And Paul begins to examine “The Problem“, which is how natural man behaves under law. He was going back to see just what the law was all about (and to see how and why it had to be replaced with grace).”What shall we say about the law then, is it sin?” So He is obviously not at all considering “the solution” as given in 7:6, he is going to explain “the problem” of 7:5. You cannot examine these two things at the same time, they are exclusive to one another, are mutually exclusive.

So he examines the problem of slavery to sin under the law, and when he has finished, he reiterates the solution to it, with a great exclamation of release and thankfulness. Which is simply an interjection at the end of his explanation, to show that there IS an answer, which is Jesus! Rom.8:1,2 provides the final concluding statement, which is that because natural man is trying to “serve two masters” (two laws) in 7:25, he is now released from one of them, [the law of sin and death] which frees him up to properly serve the other [the law of (God) the Spirit of life].

[The fact that Paul is the author of all this, displaying complete mastery and command of the subject matter involved, makes ludicrous the debate about whether he was speaking before or after he was converted, or as from one position or the other, as Christian or as slave under the law, or as to the timing of this as past or present, because HE WROTE IT ALL, he knew all there was to know about this subject and was in complete control of what He was saying. Unfortunately it remains true as it is written elsewhere, that “there are some things Paul writes which are hard to understand…”][Which people then twist..]

[14. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, (which has been) sold into bondage to sin. Sin has made me its slave. But Jesus bought me back out of that slavery, released me from its bondage.]

[You are not your own, you have been bought with a price]

INNER CONFLICT IS THE CLASH OF TWO OR MORE “LAWS” [1584b]

Depression, fear and anxiety can be the result of conflicting thought patterns within the mind, so that mental rationality is disturbed.

Just to use the (Oh no!) dreaded illustration from Romans 7 verse 25, we see man conflicted by two co-existing laws, which, being opposed to one another within the one body, disturbs the “rationality” of the whole mental process, thereby creating “anxiety” through fear of the outcome of such inner insecurity. That one cannot trust one’s own thinking to be able to provide the right answers to the ‘wrong problems’.

Basically in 7:25, man’s mind serves a law of goodness while his human nature serves a law of badness. But man’s experience with “badness” is overwhelmingly greater than his experience of “goodness”, that is, as long as he lives in an environment of “badness”, as long as this is his “normal” reference material, he will continue to produce its outcome regardless of the fact that he knows better. This is a source of inner discontent, of inner conflict for him. Result? “WRETCHED MAN”.

So what makes these two laws, LAWS? What makes ANY “law”, a law? A law is something which has been shown to carry authority, that it is meaningful in relation to one’s life experiences. This law if it has come from an external source, becomes INTERALISED once it has been rationally analysed by the brain, and then judged, considered to be true, relevant, or believable.

“Laws” may be considered relevant and believable if they are of a cultural source and carry the weight of popular (or unpopular) society with them, and this includes parental authority and civil or religious authority too. Especially so if penalties are seen to be applied for the transgression or “breaking” of them.

So our brains, our minds, our memories are patterned after these laws, they become semi permanent thought patterns within us, so that we will respond to a certain stimulus in a prearranged way.

The only way to alter this is to change the points of relativity, the sources of these “laws”, or the relevance of their existence to our conscious being. Included in all this is the matter of our conscience and how it has been influenced or even instructed in these matters.

“Law brings wrath” because “the” law cannot find satisfaction because the “host” (natural man) is incapable of meeting its requirements, he is not “programmed” that way to do so. The ‘wrath’ is the conflict, the agitation of the thought processes, thought patterns and thought streams. This is the result of corruptive processes and it nurtures further corruptive processing.

Therefore existing “laws” have to be re-examined for relevance and for truthfulness and possibly replaced with other laws which now carry greater authority than those previous.

In the biblical sense, Rom.8:2 says “For the LAW of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the LAW of sin and of death”. Here we see a change in authority regarding the relevance of one law towards another, that the new introduced law may override the older, now superfluous law, because the earlier law now becomes ‘lost’ in the superior subsequent chain of events now created by the second, ‘newer’ law.

In this case, the reality was that this ‘newer’ law actually preceded the ‘older’ law in two ways. The first is because God’s love always was and never changes. The second lies in the application of these laws into man’s reality, because it says that the ‘older’ law was really not as old as the first “Abrahamic” one which takes precedence over it. That “The law which was ADDED 430 years later…” does not override the former “Abrahamic covenant”, the one of FAITH. It is this Mosaic law which has now been rendered obsolete and is “fading away”.

[More on the subject of “law” to come later.].