You Are Reconcilled To God. Do You Believe That?

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written

in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods?”

If He called them gods, to whom

the word of God came (and the Scripture

cannot be broken), “do you say of Him

whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world,

“You are blaspheming,” because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?”

If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;

but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works,

that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me,

and I in Him.”

John 10:34–38

            Before I begin this blog, I must apologize for not writing for two days, for I had out of town doctor appointments with the Veteran Hospital in Sacramento (Stones: for the fifth time: ugh!).

            The above Scripture that Jesus quoted in regards to being, “You are gods?”  Is quoted from Psalm 82:6, and the word used there in Hebrew elohiym is a plural word that is used especially with the supreme God, yet occasionally it is applied to magistrates, or mighty ones, i.e., rulers, judges, superhuman beings including God and angels, and even goddesses.  Mormons would be quick to point out that men are called gods, therefore we are gods, but a careful reading of Psalm 82 would not allow for that interpretation. In the above narrative Jesus is being confronted by some Jews who were about to stone Him because they said: “The Jews answered Him, saying, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.’” (John 10:33). Jesus’ answer: clear, not doubt, unless a person desires to doubt, that He and the Father are One. (vs. 38). How the Jews wanted to kill Him, but when they attempted to grab Him He slipped away and escaped. (vs. 39).  The subject of the Trinity is huge and I will not attempt in this blog to give reason to believe in the Trinity, only I will quote what Jesus said, “…that you may know and believe that Father is in Me, and I in Him” (vs. 38). We are dealing with the subject of reconciliation and it does have need and will show that there is a Trinity and God necessitates this as He inspired, in this case, John, to write this narrative. God is through His Son, Jesus Christ gathering a people, those who inherit everlasting life, an inheritance that was predestined according to the counsel of His will; “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which he purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which  re in heaven and which are on earth––in Him.  In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:7–12).  Does this not raise your emotions high that God predestined you and you are one of His inheritance giving to you reconciliation and forgiveness of you sins?  Some look for other emotional highs, but, there is none above the fact that God forgave the very thing that demanded our death, and the destruction of all things created.  The Greek word, "anakephalaiosasthai"(transliteration) is aorist, infinitive, and in the middle voice.  So what does that mean?  When in the middle voice the word applies to the one who is doing the action and in this case it is God who is drawing to Himself, (that is what this word means), because they ones predestined were and are now in many cases, separated from Him, bringing them, you, together to Himself under one head, that which this separation means, we were not under one head, we, and as many do, live autonomously: we want it our way, which may be good when ordering a hamburger. HA! But not when we are called ones, the ekklesia of God. God was in Christ, the Jews were wrong to try to kill Him, the One they have been expecting all those years, and even all the good works done by Jesus, they still would not believe.  Sound like anyone you may know?  Now, don’t misunderstand this and say that this expression signifies no more than by Christ as in: “…the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18). Listen to Paul’s words: “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). There is more that must be presented in regards to the expression “As God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32b).  This expression is not just for the sake of Jesus Christ, which it is under the economy of God, but there is actual pardon, and Jesus Christ is the moving cause of God’s intercession, and Jesus Christ is the meritorious cause by the propitiation of Jesus Christ (see: 1John 2:2).  

            But the first purpose of reconciliation, and the appointing Christ as the medium for it, had no moving cause but the infinite compassion of God to his fallen creature. Christ was not the moving cause of this, though he be the meritorious cause of all the effects of it, and laid the foundation of an actual reconciliation by being the center of the agreement between the justice and mercy of God. God's anger was appeased by the death of Christ, but God was the first author of this propitiation, appointing this method of restoring the creature, and this person, or Jesus, to do it.

God was in Christ. It may be meant of the Trinity: the Father was in Christ constituting and directing, the Son was in Christ by personal union, the Spirit was in Christ gifting him for this work of reconciliation; but I would rather understand it of the Father.

May this bring great joy to your heart: God reconciled you to Himself and this through His Son. I shall expand on this in the next blogs.

I write to you, little children,

            Because your sins are

Forgiven you for His name’s sake.

                                    1John 2:12

Pray today for guidance: God will hear

Richard L. Crumb

Living As God's Ambassador: Redeeming The Time

For He Himself is our peace,

who has made both one, and has

broken down the middle wall of separation,

having abolished in His flesh the enmity,

that is, the law of commandments contained

in the ordinances, so as to create in Himself

one new man from the two, this making peace,

and that He might reconcile them both to God

in one body through the cross, thereby putting

to death the enmity. And He came and preached

peace to you who were afar off and to those who

were near. For through Him we both have access

by one Spirit to the Father.

Ephesians 2:14–18

            When I speak of keeping the commandments of God I speak in regards to the Ten Commandments that were never taken away by the death of Jesus Christ.  Jesus took away those ordinances that the Israelites were to keep and all who came to be associated with them.  By doing so all peoples were joined now together as one in Jesus Christ; there is no separation.  God did this through His Son, His very Wisdom clothed in flesh to reconcile people to Himself, those people who He has enabled to know Him, drawn by Him to Himself.  This is the wonderfulness of God!  This is the Gospel!  This is the mystery in a few words, like a picture set out for all to see and only those enabled by God can truly see it, and it is in His word, the Scriptures, not in some man–made ideologies that are so often preached in some churches today.  So often when I have attended other churches I feel as though I entered into a Dr. Phil show with all the New–Age philosophy being preached and not the Gospel.  Sound good to the ears, it tickles the ears but it is not what we are to preach and teach.  We are to preach the redemptive power that comes through Jesus Christ in our preaching.  So often we are drawn to a church because the preacher is so eloquent.  It is not some excellency of speech that draws people to Jesus Christ; it is Jesus Christ who draws people to Himself, and this is done as did Paul: “My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words” (1Corinthians 2:1–5). This creative reconciliation by God for His people never comes through some personality of a preacher, it comes by the preacher fasting upon the gospel and not from some impressive manner of preaching. It is this eloquence we desire, it is this desire to celebrate by making people to be celebrities; i.e., movie stars, music stars, and even scientist who may or may not adhere to the truth of God’s word. We, the preacher, us, are to be the representative of God, an ambassador for Jesus Christ and this is that we do what we have been commanded to do: preach the Gospel, Jesus Christ crucified.  We are to teach that we are to put God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit as a priori in our lives.  We are to pick up our cross and follow Him.  We are to deny ourselves.  Whoops!!!!  I went to preaching, for you may say; “You went too far now!”  Listen!  Anything that hinders our witness, our preaching must be destroyed, removed from us for if not then what we are believing and teaching is only going to hinder the truth, the Gospel.  We are then, a traitor to the cause; which we have been called.  You think that you are called only to go to heaven?  Is this all that you are waiting for?  If so, you are not all that God has done for you, for He saved you, allowed you to remain here in this world to be His arms and legs to take His message to the world so that His children may respond to the message you bring.  What message are you bringing to our world, that world that you influence?  God has promised us eternal life, so what are you waiting for and why are you not, me too, living for Him no matter the consequences?  God has performed all that is needed to ensure and set forever salvation: it cannot be changed and by means of His performance through His Wisdom, His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ reconciliation is not only fundamental to the Gospel, it is the Gospel.  Furthermore, God sent to His children Himself, the Holy Spirit, not some separate entity, some power as the Jehovah Witnesses teach, but Himself, for the Holy Spirit is Him, and having within Himself, the Holy Spirit has personality, and is of the same essence as the Father because He is God.  Our reconciliation to the Father is due to His mediator Jesus Christ, and think once again, Jesus Christ, God Himself, as the Son of God, His Wisdom in Flesh, the same essence as the Father, the Holy Spirit, all One, the Godhead; and we are reconciled to Him by the death of the God/Man, Jesus Christ. The Son brings us to the Father so that we have access to the Father and that wrong against God was paid by Himself so that you, the one called by God can be not only reconciled to God, but to live forever in a world that God has prepared for all His children.  We are directed to God through the Son, and led to the Father by the Holy Spirit in all we do; if we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and not be led by someone who is teaching what we consider to be eloquent, impressive, but not the Gospel.  People, we, all, need the Gospel, not some ear–tickling words.  We run to and fro looking for help when all the help we need has been given to us by God in His word.  We just don’t want to do what He has said so often and we are led to follow after other philosophies.

            Think upon this: God has appropriated for Himself a people, separated no longer by nationality, all under one head.  Jesus Christ by God the Father has forgiven you: “And be kind to one another, tender hearted; forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). My prayer is that you are moved by that fact and that your live will change from the Inside/Out, becoming all that God desires from you.

See then that you walk circumspectly,

            Not as fools but as wise,

Redeeming the time, because

            The days are evil.

Therefore do not be unwise,

            But understand what

The will of the Lord is.

                        Ephesians 5:15–16

Be Today That Witness For God

Richard L. Crumb

Walking As One Who Is Reconciled To God

And all things are of God,

who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,

and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit,

that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.

2 Corinthians 5:18,19

            The goodness of God and His mercy is not due to some insensibility on His patience. God being pure goodness cannot produce from any weakness of resentment, patience. God is slow to anger but this does not mean that He is incapable of anger, or that He cannot discern what is a real object of anger. What it implies is; He takes every consideration of every provocation, yet is not hasty to discharge any anger upon the offenders. God sees all, and hears all, and it is His omniscience; that excludes any ignorance, so that every step and motion, all that is included in every aggravation He sees from beginning to end. God knows the completion of all things, He knows our every thought and sees all our sins and the sinner: at the same time. Remember, there is no time with God for He is eternal, no beginning or end and while we live in sequential time, God does not. God can see the abhorrence of sin and know how that how that abhorrence of sin will affect the sinner, and while God may have pity on the sinner He is not hasty in discharging His anger against the sinner and sees what is needed for all, in all time, and in every circumstance. God allows that which He allows so that His purpose will be carried forth and His children will receive not only His blessing, but this world will know that He is God and they with all their intelligence would not come to Him unless He draws them. God sees theirs, and our, iniquities and His hatred is edged against them, yet He stands with open arms waiting for the penitent to return to Him. God will set in order all things and His silence will not be silent forever. This we wait for in expectation for His return and the completion of His justice upon this world. We must not conclude that God is slow as one who is inapprehensive and we must not conclude that His deferring of punishment is from some stupidity by that which affronts Him. God is a God of Goodness, Mercy, and Patience.

            The opening Scripture tells of God mercy and patience inasmuch as we are told that all things are of God and that God is the One Who has reconciled Himself to us, not that we reconciled first, rather that God reconciled us and gave to us the Gospel, that is the ministry of reconciliation. To be reconciled is to be brought into agreement, to be made harmonious, and compatible and that is that God reconciles us in Jesus Christ. When it is said that God is reconciling the world into Himself many believe that it is everyone, at least everyone who believes in Jesus Christ, but this is not necessarily so; Kosmos, the Greek word can mean the who world, but in its primary meaning it is: an order, a regular disposition, an embellishment. It can mean the aggregate of sensitive existence (1Corinthings 4:9), it can mean the public (John 7:4), it can mean, the present order of things, (John 18:36).  It can mean all this and yet it rarely means the whole, everyone, on this earth. God is reconciling to Himself His children those He has drawn and enabled (Read John 6). This is a great mystery inasmuch as it is the head of the Gospel. God’s reconciling to Himself those to whom He calls and gives faith, enables and draws comprehends the counsels of eternity and the transaction of time. It is a wonder in heaven and God did this by means of His patience, His mercy, and His grace by bringing forth a male–child, to be a propitiation for sin. Oh! How this was a stumbling block to the Jews and for the Gentiles and is for many today who act as did those people of old in the days of Jesus Christ and before for they: “For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seed after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1Corinthians 1:22–24).  God descends to man by this in acts of wisdom and grace and man ascends to God in acts of faith and love. We see this narrated to us in the vision of Jacob and the ladder he say with angels descending and ascending from heaven to earth and back to heaven. If there by any mystery in regards to God, His patience and His reconciliation, there is none more admirable than this for in all its various and incomprehensible engagement of God towards man, all was done through Jesus Christ.

            Reconciliation is given by the death of Jesus Christ from which it was obtained. This is the ground of God’s laying aside His anger: it is reconciliation by means of His law. A legality that God extends to all His children and all this has its completion by faith. All this is by God laying aside His enmity, and imputes sin no more to the person. God is willing to take men into His favor (1Corinthians 1:20).  God has the right of reconcilement. The Gospel contains the articles of peace, and the counsels and methods of God about it. It is the copy of God’s heart from eternity. We must, that is we must allow the faith given to us by god to accept the terms of reconcilement. We do have a part in this, for God will not cast us from salvation but will not override our will in the matter of how we accept or not accept His reconcilement. Think upon this: God accepts us into His favor, and gives to us non–imputation of our sins: How? “And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the reconciliation” (Romans 5;11). God’s patience is great and He gives reconciliation. The question for us is: what are we going to do with this reconciliation, this message of reconciliation that we are to live by and to preach to the world?

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death,

that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the

 glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:4

Accept that gift of God today

Richard L. Crumb