Jesus Was Never Created; He Is God!

For it pleased the Father that in Him

All the fullness should dwell….

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy

and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men,

according to the basic principles of the world,

and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells

 all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

and you are complete in Him,

who is the head of all principality and power.

Colossians 1:19; 28–10

            Before I address the subject that is being considered in these blogs allow me to teach why the words; “the Father that” are in italics. Those words are not in the original Greek manuscripts; so why place then in this Scripture? The Greek word used here in this Scripture for “pleased” (εὐδόκησεν; is in the third person singular 1^st aorist, indicative) and begs the question: Who is the one being pleased? The epithets in this Scripture are applied to Jesus Christ and are: “Image of the invisible God,” First–born of all creation,” “through Him all things are reconciled’, to Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” and, in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead”. The One who is pleased is the Father who sent Him to be the propitiation for sin. Therefore, for this verse to have meaning the context rules and the context ascribes to Jesus Christ that it was God who was pleased. Read this book by Paul and you will find that all that I have said is true of Jesus Christ and God the Father. Now, for the important part of this blog. The fullness of the Godhead is ascribed to Jesus Christ and that Jesus Christ is the head of all things. Jesus was never created, He is God, one of the Persons of the Godhead: why say Godhead if God is only One? Paul, it seems by what he was addressing to the Colossians was a defense of the doctrine of Jesus Christ which was being attacked by Gnosticism. Gnosticism had as one of its main tenets, dualism. Platoism was dualistic, so was Neoplatonism. Gnosticism which was derived from these philosophies of the Greeks held to dualism as well as they taught and insisted upon a clear and definite separation between the spiritual world and the material world. Gnosticism insisted that the material world was evil and the spiritual world good. How then could they reconcile the fact that Jesus came to earth, lived, died, was resurrected and ascended into heaven? First, God due to the material world being considered evil could not have created the world. Secondly: the Gnostics formed a series of emanations that bridged the gap between the bad world and the spiritual world. This was done with the idea of a demiurge: is a concept from the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy for an artisan-like figure responsible for the fashioning and maintenance of the physical universe. The term was subsequently adopted by the Gnostics. Although a fashioner, the demiurge is not necessarily thought of as being the same as the creator figure in the familiar monotheistic sense, because both the demiurge itself plus the material from which the demiurge fashions the universe are considered either uncreated and eternal, or the product of some other being, depending on the system.[1] The Gnostics went even further with this demiurge as they identified the demiurge with Jehovah of the Old Testament, Jehovah was disliked by the Gnostics. How then could they explain Jesus Christ? They adopted a doctrine of Docetism a belief that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die. The Gnostics believe that Jesus being absolute spiritual good could not have a body so then Jesus must be a phantom that had seeming appearance of a man. When Jesus died on the cross the spiritual Jesus left the carnal Jesus to die on the cross. Furthermore, the Gnostics taught that the work of the Christ was to teach a special gnosis (knowledge) that would aid the believer to save himself by this intellectual process.  This is Arianism in its beginning stages, that man had enough good in him to be able to save himself. Many Christians believe that today as it is taught as truth in many Churches. Maybe you believe this! Don’t! It is an unscriptural doctrine. Only when God calls a person, and enables a person, by giving to that person the faith needed to believe can a man believe. Yes, man must make a choice but as a total depraved man, a nature that is totally depraved, one must ask how can a man with such a nature come to a belief in God? Many Churches today, Bethel Church in Redding, CA, is one such Church that teaches a special knowledge, an intellectual approach to salvation. From Gnosticism came many heresies that are present today, and can be seen in Churches that ascribe to a mystical belief, a supernatural belief that has nothing to do with Scripture but has all to do with a person’s feelings, a special knowledge that God has spoken to them in their minds, but have no Sriptural warrant for such a thing, and no Scriptural basis for this special knowledge. Can God speak to us? Yes! How? I don’t know! But, when God does speak to an individual He does not usurp His word. Salvation is at the heart of these heresies so it is important that we understand them and how they contradict Scripture. Salvation is at the heart of Scripture. Which should one follow? Heresy, or truth? The Bible, or some person’s idea of salvation, or God, of Jesus Christ, a religion that has mysticism and supernaturalism as their base. I for one will follow God’s word; unadulterated. How about you?

Return, you backsliding children.

            And I will heal your backslidings…
                                    Jeremiah 3:22a

Our God Is One: The Godhead, Worship Him In Truth

Richard L. Crumb

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[1] Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demiurge; February 7, 2013

Standing For True Authentic Biblical Faith

Woe to him who covets evil

gain for his house.

that he may set his nest on high,

that he may be delivered from

the power of disaster!

You give shameful counsel

to your house, cutting off

many peoples,

and sin against your soul.

Habakkuk 2:9–10

            Habakkuk sees the hardheartedness of the people of Israel and cries out to God asking; “O LORD, how long shall I cry, and you will not hear? Even cry out to You ‘Violence!’ ”Why do You not save. Why do You show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife, and contention arises. Therefore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds” (Habakkuk 1:2–4). God is not slow as to His promises or His judgments, He will act in all His Providence to exercise His will according to His purpose. God answers Habakkuk: “Then the LORD answered me and said; ‘Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith: (Habakkuk 2:2–4; cf. Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11). What Habakkuk saw in his day is what we see in our day; men unfaithful, transgressors of the law, some even bow down to images which God condemns: “What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, the molded image, a teacher of lies, the maker of its mold should trust in it, to make mute idols? Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’ Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet in it there is not breath at all” (Habakkuk 2:18–19). Man has and is attempting to make God to as he sees Him to be, what he has vision God to be, he designs theologies to make men fall prey to his teaching, and then Habakkuk states this fact: “But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him” (Habakkuk 2:20). Many Churches are unfaithful to God and have allowed in various forms those heresies that the Apostles fought against, that the early Church fathers fought against allowing must falseness to enter into the Church. An example of having been taught that which is unscriptural: Many object about the Roman Catholic Church with their idols, the saints, the pictures of Mary, and Joseph, even of baby Jesus and the cry goes out: “Idols!” Yet, those same persons have at least one picture of Jesus as though this was a camera shot of Him. Oh! They say, I don’t worship Him, and that may be true, even Roman Catholics will say that, and both say the same thing, it is to remind them of Jesus; some go further and even give some form of worship to this picture ass though it was holy. Don’t touch it! The cry goes forth! Indians would say that such a person speaks with forked tongue.

            Many of those who teach liberalism and not true historical Biblical doctrine seem to be genuine in their confession of faith but their fruits are not Scriptural. Jesus spoke: “Beware of false prophets who came to you in sheep’ clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles” (Matthew 7:15–16. Ministry in many Churches have allowed men, and women, who have an attitude towards the Gospel which is the very reverse of an Authentic Biblical Christians attitude. As I have attempted to show that false doctrine due to the influence of such philosophies as Platoism, Neoplatonism, Gnosticism, etc., did and are now infecting the Church, that may be you for you are the Church, and the attack is not from some outside invasion, the invasion is within the Church. We can see this invasion by examining what is occurring, the fruits, by Scripture, and not just some interpretation of Scripture, rather the grammatical/ historical interpretation. We see within some Churches the allowance of women preachers, men and women who are living in sin, admitted to positions of leadership, and the result is a dilution of the truth. There has been by this liberalization of Christianity and opening of Pandora’s box that is filled with the culture of this world. Many have and are now being influenced to this liberal view, this liberal theology and leaving in their wake, Authentic Biblical Faith.

            There is great need for men to stand up for the faith, for women to teach their children, to those married to live in total commitment to their husbands and for husbands to love their wives, and a cleansing of that which is unscriptural, the removal from positions of leadership, those living in sin, the homosexual, the adulterer, the drunk, etc., men who will die for the truth. After all, this life is temporal, we are, as God’s children already legally in heaven. Jesus gives us this important narrative when a child was brought to Him, and He teaches us: “…and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven”(Matthew 18:3). Are you converted to Jesus? Are you sold out to Him? Are you willing to stand for your faith under any and all circumstances? Do you have a heart, the same as Jesus, for those who are lost and need to be found, those who have been called by God but need to hear the Gospel? Yes, we have life to live and as Augustine said, “Live life; Love God!” May others see Jesus in you as you are being formed into His image.

But I will sacrifice to You

            With the voice of thanksgiving;

I will pay what I have vowed.

            Salvation is of the LORD.

                                                Jonah 2:9

Heed the words of our God

Richard L. Crumb

The Truth Must Be Preached: Authentic Biblical Truth

But to the wicked God says:

“What right have you to

declare My statutes,

or take My covenant in

your mouth, seeing you hate

instruction and cast My words

behind you?”

“These things you have done,

and I kept silent; you thought

that I was altogether like you;

but I will rebuke you, and set

them in order before your eyes.”

Psalm 50:16–17;21

            Throughout the centuries men have attempted to declare God’s word and at the same time hating His instruction. By means of this hate they have developed a theology that is not of God: God will in His time set things straight and those who are teaching such false theology, filled with worldly philosophy, will be rebuked and in His time will answer before His throne for all that they have done. This is serious and must be taken serious for there are many who are true seekers of truth but have fallen prey to these false “Christian” leaders and pastors. The truth must be preached: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher” (Romans 10:14). It takes faith to believe and by hearing the word of God this free gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8) from God invigorates the heart, and by this aroused faith they believe: “So then faith come by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Authentic Biblical Christianity has as its base in Scripture that teaches that Jesus Christ, His work on the cross, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven is our foundation upon which our faith is founded. The Brotherhood of true Authentic Biblical Christians find their expression in the Church, those who constitute the Church, the ekklesia. Any examination of a Church, whether liberal or Authentic, will expose flaws in both. The question in regards to those flaws is: are those flaws heretical, that is, are they or are then not have as their foundation in Scripture? When those flaws are exposed do they immediately remove from the Church those flaws and reestablish Authentic Biblical Principles? It is true that the visible Church has not in every case produced the changes needed for men, women, and children. Whey? There are many reasons, we can observe easily their weaknesses and that they are troubled and having difficulty in development of the redeemed. Why? an obvious cause is clearly seen; the Church, the called–out ones, and are unfaithful to the Lord. How? They are admitting many persons into her membership who is not truly converted. Those coming into the Church may have made a decision, often based more on emotion that by anything else, the music touch them, the message touched them, but God has not called them and the Church is too ready to accept them into membership. These unconverted people act as they did in the early Church: “He claims that certain person (who do not wish to either give or receive a reason for their belief) keep saying, ‘Do not examine; just believe!” and “Your faith will save you.” (Sound familiar?) He claims that such person also says, ‘The wisdom of this life is bad. However, foolishness is a good thing” (Running through tunnels of fire, thinking that whatever comes into the mind is from God, etc.) To which we have to answer… that in the Christian system it will be found that there is…much investigation into articles of belief” (Origen, c.248). In many churches today men and women are given positions of teaching, leadership, musicians, etc., without taking the time to learn whether or not they are truly converted or just need to have more knowledge of the doctrines of God. This was not true in the early Church, a Church that was confronted by many heresies, and waged war with them, and ensuring the purity of the Church by instruction and testing of an individual who professed Christ: “Christians test beforehand the souls of those who wish to become their hearers. First, we instruct them in private. Once they appear to have sufficiently demonstrated their desire towards a virtuous life, then we introduce them [to other Christians]––but not before. Next, we privately form one class of those who are beginners. These are the ones who are receiving admission, but who have not yet obtained the mark of complete purification. And we form another class of those who have manifested to the best of their ability their intention to desire no other things that what are approved by Christians. Among these, there are certain persons appointed to make inquiries regarding the lives and behavior of those who join them––so that they can prevent those who commit acts of infamy from coming into their public assembly. However, those of a different character, they receive with their whole heart, in order that they may daily make them better” (Origen, c.248).

            If this was so important to the early Church when heresy was present, are we not to do the same since much of those heresies still are confronting Authentic Biblical Faith? We are admitting into our school, universities, seminaries, person that are not converted to Christ, even though they give lip service that they are Christian. Liberalism is the main thrust of teaching, a denigrating of Scripture by accusations that are unfounded and they teach not true historical Biblical doctrine of God. These men and women seem to have a genuine confession of faith but their fruits deny their claim; they are not Scriptural.

            What is badly needed in this present age is men who have backbone, those who love God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit and are willing to even if need by die for their faith and stand on the truth. There are some, but are you one of them? I ask myself the same question! Revival! Not just any revival! A return to Authentic Biblical Faith.

Therefore say to them, “Thus says

The LORD of hosts: “Return to Me”

Says the LORD of hosts, “and I will return

to you,” says the LORD of hosts.”

                                    Zechariah 1:3

God Is Merciful: He will accept your return to Him

Richard L. Crumb