The tree of life growing within

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Grace is the promised seed that Christ has accomplished for us. Thank you Jesus!

I can see the tree of life as planted in seed form in the new living heart. Born of the incorruptible seed that the Word/Christ Jesus has planted in fertile soil, rooted in Him. Placed in the loving care of the Father, our husbandman, our gardener of the righteous soul the heart beats with the blood of Christ cleansing and refreshing with every beat.

Praise, honour and glory to Him.

1 Peter 1:23
having been born again, not of corruptible seed but [incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever

True worship.jpg
 

~Zao~

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Grace is the promised seed that Christ has accomplished for us. Thank you Jesus!

I can see the tree of life as planted in seed form in the new living heart. Born of the incorruptible seed that the Word/Christ Jesus has planted in fertile soil, rooted in Him. Placed in the loving care of the Father, our husbandman, our gardener of the righteous soul the heart beats with the blood of Christ cleansing and refreshing with every beat.

Praise, honour and glory to Him.

1 Peter 1:23
having been born again, not of corruptible seed but [incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever

View attachment 249546
I’m reminded of these verses ….

Psalms 1:3
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

Revelation 2:22
In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river,
was the tree of life,
which bore twelve fruits,
each tree yielding its fruit every month.
The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
 
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~Zao~

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Christ Jesus’s Fruit is for our Edification, the Source and the Sustenance of Life. One of the keys of unfolding what He means to us as the Tree of Life is in seeing the continuation from the Gospel of John, to the Book of Hebrews and as it is picked up again in the Epistles of John.

In the Gospel of John the Lord is first seen as life (John 1:4), as the bread of life (John 6:35), as the water of life (John 4:14), and as the breath of life, the air (John 20:22).

In the book of Hebrews Christ Jesus is that fount of every blessing found at the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) (Revelation 22:1).

In John’s Epistles we are shown how to approach the Divine Presence in the individual aspects of the Christian life.

The purpose of John’s Gospel is that believers might have life (John 20:31) while the purpose of his 1st Epistle is that those who have life may Know that they possess it. (1 John 5:13) The latter was written to compliment the former and was intended for genuine believers.

Branches that abide in Him have the ability to Trust in Him. They know that they can go boldly to the altar and reside there with Him. (Hebrews 6:17-18) Trust therefor in His love because He is unchangeable and faithful to give protection and safety. (Psalms 91:2) (Proverbs 3:5-6) (Philippians 1:6)

It’s not physical enemies that we’re battling against but spiritual ones lurking in the invisible realm. For that reason what is needed is to Wage the War in God’s domain, where God dwells in the praises of His people. (Psalms 22:3)

Prayer w/o ceasing is the NT equivalent to the OT meditating on the law both day and night. Remember that our mediator is just a prayer away from placing us out and away from satan’s war zone (Philippians 2:9-10) (Hebrews 9:15) (John 17:15) because the new creation is not intended to be on satan’s food chain. (1 Peter 5:8)

Never any that hoped in thee, were made ashamed of their hope; never any that sought thee, sought thee in vain. Blessings!

 
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I was surprised to discover that pretty much all of the teachings of abiding with Christ are from the Gospel of John and 1st Epistle of John. The teaching comes first from Christ Himself:

John 14:17
The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don’t see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you.

John 14:20
Then you will know that I am one with the Father. You will know that you are one with me, and I am one with you.

John 15:4
Stay joined to me, and I will stay joined to you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit unless it stays joined to the vine, you cannot produce fruit unless you stay joined to me.

John 17:21
I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.​

It’s interesting that the first words of John to Jesus were “Where do you abide?” It seems that this was the profound lesson that he never forgot and what John places as the centrality of Christ’s teaching, so that the world would believe because only Love can abide there.

1 John 2:5-6
We truly love God only when we obey him as we should, and then we know that we belong to him. If we say we are his, we must follow the example of Christ.

1 John 2:24
Keep thinking about the message you first heard, and you will always be one in your heart with the Son and with the Father.

1 John 2:27-28
But Christ has blessed you with the Holy Spirit. Now the Spirit stays in you, and you don’t need any teachers. The Spirit is truthful and teaches you everything. So stay one in your heart with Christ, just as the Spirit has taught you to do.
Children, stay one in your hearts with Christ. Then when he returns, we will have confidence and won’t have to hide in shame.

1 John 3:6
and people who stay one in their hearts with him won’t keep on sinning. If they do keep on sinning, they don’t know Christ, and they have never seen him.

1 John 3:24
If we obey God’s commandments, we will stay one in our hearts with him, and he will stay one with us. The Spirit that he has given us is proof that we are one with him.

1 John 4:4
Children, you belong to God, and you have defeated these enemies. God’s Spirit is in you and is more powerful than the one that is in the world.

1 John 4:12-13
No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is truly in our hearts.
God has given us his Spirit. That is how we know that we are one with him, just as he is one with us.

1 John 4:15-16
God stays one with everyone who openly says that Jesus is the Son of God. That’s how we stay one with God and are sure that God loves us.
God is love. If we keep on loving others, we will stay one in our hearts with God, and he will stay one with us.

1 John 5:20
We know that Jesus Christ the Son of God has come and has shown us the true God. And because of Jesus, we now belong to the true God who gives eternal life.​

Acceptance of something that appeals to a higher calling, namely Love, turns us away from an unexhaustable need within that is impossible to fill and instead places trust in a hope and promise of greater things.

The old nature's inherant longing makes an ideological shift that places the void in the hands of God to fulfill.

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust" (Psalms 91:1-2).​
 
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~Zao~

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John the beloved disciple, like his former teacher John the Baptist, was very sure of who he was and who he was not. The Baptist knew he was a voice and that he was not the Messiah. He, the Baptist, had been there to point the way to Christ and that’s exactly what he did for John. He turned out to be a man worth following precisely because they followed him straight to Christ.

John the disciple knew that he was there to share with fellow believers the joy of fellowship that he had been such a close witness to. 1 John 1:1-2

Fellowship means here and always in the NT “partnership”. In many respects it’s the highest privilege of Christian attainment at the present time. The fellowship that was seen in Eden can be spiritually restored in this present age.

1 John 1:3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.)

‘With us’ in partnership means joint participation in all that grace brings to living in union and communion with others who belong to Christ. That’s from the human standpoint. From the aspect of Who the fellowship is with it includes access to His Presence, love and enjoyment of truth from the Father and the Son as Jesus (human) Christ (divine)

Fellowship is the source and guarantee of joy. 1 John 1:4 which is independent of outer circumstances yet spiritually in tune with the Father’s pardon, teaching, love, power, protection and the Son’s redemptive work unto resurrection, His blessed Spirit and glorious coming … these are the things that produce joy.

John uses the phrase “your joy may be full” 6 x in his writings. All put together John demonstrates the secret to fullness of joy. Consecration John 3:29, obedience John 15:10, prayer John 16:24, protection John 17:13, fellowship 1 John 1:3-4, and fraternal love 2 John 12


To summarize:

Fellowship is the foundation laid for us in Christ, the divine purpose for the believer = fellowship with God and others (sum of the law and prophets) brings to this fellowship the fullness of joy.

To be continued ...
 
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~Zao~

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Where there is a foundation it follows that there is a building. As Eve was built from the first Adam so also the church is built from the last Adam, our Saviour and Lord.

John was himself a master builder in his own right. John differed from Paul in the building in that he didn’t use any materials that relate to temporary things that we now know have passed away but instead John got right to that which is of the spiritual life. 1 John 2:16-17

I love that John was part of the inner circle councillors that saw and attended to the King face to face. And how he has graciously built on that fact to bring new generations into that intimate fellowship that His eyewitnesses had enjoyed. To where spiritual eyes can now see Him face to face.

To us John brings the light of genuine fellowship… of the Father that is felt but is not seen … of the Son that is seen in God’s Word … of the Holy Spirit whose Presence is revealed by the effects.
In proportion that Christ is real and true can we be sure of possessing the Holy Spirit.

In asking ‘What is Christ to me?” we can learn much from ‘as He’ was to John. Inwardly and outwardly John had done much thought on this. Christ must be the standard of our relationship to God because we need Christ to cleanse us in our walk much the same as He cleansed the feet of them at the last supper. 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:6
Christ must be the standard in relationship to ourselves too and this we can gauge by our obedience to Him in the practise of righteousness. 1 John 2:3, 1 John 3:7
And Christ must be our standard in relationship to others. because His command is to love one another, perfected to produce boldness in the face of judgement. 1 John 3:23, 1 John 4:17

In all of this the Lord will bless and keep us, graciously shining His face on us, to lift us up and give us peace. Numbers 6:24-26

:amen:
 
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Our edification really needs to come from God, the new incorruptible seed being nourished from the life-source within. Regeneration has given us an added dimension in the form of our spirit (the new element) from His Spirit (John 3:6) and from which obedience is to Him alone (1 John 2:27) (John 9:34) (Psalms 108:12) Blessings from the Father requires our worship in order for Him to dwell therein. (John 4:23-24)

John 1:4 says that Christ is life and that life is the light of mankind. 1 John 1:5 begins to elaborate on, ‘this is the message’, to what that means to usward. ‘From Him’ is the source of the message. The tense in Greek ‘heard’ refers to still hearing from Christ (Romans 10:17) ‘Declare to you’ is like a message that could not be kept to himself. (Jeremiah 20:9)

John 1:4
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
1 John 1:5
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.​

Obedience, therefore, means to hear, understand and do that which has been revealed. (Job 42:5) God’s faithfulness is all about our seeing, knowing and therefor trusting (and easily obeying) Him. God is light just means that God, in His own nature, (now shared in that seed) is the perfect idea of what we understand by light. ‘Revelation’ is that understanding. Obviously John had that in spades considering his further writings entrusted to him.

John describes God is Spirit (John 4:24) God is light (1 John 1:5) God is love (1 John 4:8) all which has been made visible in Christ. God is the cause, Christ the effect, and assures us of God’s essential nature as light that He necessarily reveals Himself as light to others. Because of that light certain effects follow also into human life. …..


.
 
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~Zao~

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Obedience and love always go hand in hand and I guess that’s why John has given them as the great tests of defining discipleship that obtains to communion and fellowship with God. The gateway has always been thru loving-kindness and tender-mercies when learning from the humble and meek Jesus of Nazareth.

Submission to the Heart of God

God’s holy standards can only be found in Christ. The proper use of the human spirit is the vehicle to the heart of the matter. What had formerly been written on stone we now find being carved into our hearts of flesh. Love is the key that opens the gate. Obedience the other key that allows us to walk in.

The Hebrew word for breath in Genesis 2:7 is neshamah, which translated is “human spirit” in Proverbs 20:27. The breath of God has become to our human spirit His lamp to contain Himself, our oil and light. Zechariah 12:1; Job 32:8; Romans 8:16; 2 Timothy 4:22

Conscience cleansed at the throne of grace brings our thoughts captive to Christ in prayerful communion with Him, receiving mercy to proceed with Him, giving the freedom of conscience that guides the freewill of Christians. Romans 2:15; 2 Corinthians 5:11, 1 Timothy 1:5; 1 Timothy3:9; John 8:9

To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The Lord is the light unto my path. Praise God.
 
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Matthew 25:1 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Revelation 3:18

I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

jesus scripture.png
 
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I think what John endeavours to teach us is that faith has to be based on love. He knew that God never changes and that His love would never forsake. What I so often forget is the something that John never forgot. John clasped tightly with both hands the things that Jesus had left.

He had seen with his own eyes the law and prophets sent to console and instruct at His exodus. Yet John knew that when all was said, done and heard that the Father had insisted that the Son was the point of devout attention. Hebrews 1:1-4

He had heard with his own ears the departing speech of Jesus that gave the command to love one another as the sign of discipleship and John was ever faithful to never stop teaching that. John 13:34-35; John 15:12,17; 1 John 3:1,11,23; 1 John 4:7,11-12; 2 John 1:15 (don’t know why 2nd John never highlights?)

He had touched with his hands the Risen Lord, touched the Promise to come and John believed it to be where Love was leading those who love to. Romans 13:8; Galatians 5:13

Edit to add: Again looking at the epistles of John

The apostle shows that there are 3 results of walking in the light:

Knowledge (1 John 2:3) is always more than intellectual. What John knew he continued to know. His personal experience was brought to the level of spiritual perception. To John knowledge and faith were always in the form of a verb, intellectual observation, personal experience and spiritual certainty.

Union (1 John 2:5) involving the actual oneness of the soul with Christ thru justification and sanctification within the life of each believer.

Abiding (1 John 2:6) is the further progression of the soul. (John 15) the staying point of mind, heart and will.
 
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John laid great stress upon the perils of error and the consequent need of protection. Sadly the greatest dangers that he warned against were due to perverted christianity rather than gross violations of moral laws. “These things I have written to you against those who would lead you astray” lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, lust for the vain-glory of life. In opposition to the love of the world is the love of the Father, being in the world but not of the world. “The world passes away and the lusts thereof” “He that doeth the will of God abideth forever”

1 John 3:1-3
1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.​

Purity is one of the requirements of His children. Possessing the hope fixed on seeing and being like Christ “even as He is pure” precludes the thought in ever constant consideration. Starting from Zaos/life, expressed in love, finding it’s form in loyalty and will culminate in likeness.

It’s also a life that is in inevitable antagonism to sin, showing once again that sin is absolutely inadmissible. 1 John 2:1 “ Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness” The one in possession of the principle from which this sin-life springs seems to hold that no moral law is binding on said person. Which is insane because it implies they know not right from wrong.

On the other hand are those doing in righteousness while loving others. In fact John placed on that the proof to self that one had passed from death to life. Only the conscience knows for sure :)
 
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About John and Paul

One thing about Paul was that he was constantly proving what he believed by referring to the OT as proof. In doing so he would argue his truth and compare that to his experience. Whereas John the disciple was more deductive that what he saw, others could see also.

John’s message was that of love, as the natural outflow of God toward the salvation of the world that He loved so dearly. Sin is seen as darkness, the absence of sin is seen as light. Simply, walking in the light is fellowship with God. Dwelling with God is John’s point of highest achievement and that hasn’t changed.

Both deal with the work of Christ, John’s being less theological but still inclusive of the results of death to produce new life. Paul emphasied righteousness thru justification. Sin is in the flesh and needs to be overcome by the spirit. John says very much the same. Rather than justification and righteousness John says birth from God to Life.

Paul argues from Jewish legalism while John seems to have already relinquished it. The saving power of faith is in the acceptance of Christ, as our Lord, Saviour, and mediator of the new creation, which is seen in both messengers of the New Testament covenant with Christ.

Thors-Helmet.jpg
 
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The Holy Spirit agreeing with the human spirit that we are the children of God should really be the only assurance of belonging to the family of God needed.

But we are given much more assurance than that of His love and protection for us.
- Christ leads His own as they flee into the safeguard provided. Hebrews 6:18
- He is the strong tower built into the middle of His garden. Proverbs 18:10, Psalms 61:3, Mark 12:1
- He is the heavenly throne that one must go boldly to be cleansed daily. Hebrews 4:16, Hebrews 13:6, Matthew 6:11

Hebrews 2:13
And again:
“I will put My trust in Him.”
And again:
“Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”
Hebrews 12:2
looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.​

The other thing in scripture that was learned was Christ Himself learning obedience.
- "In Thee", the Father, Christ took refuge, Psalms 16:1
- while He suffered to learn obedience. Hebrews 5:8

Those who are wise spend their lifetimes growing in wisdom yet have learned contentment with the stage that they are at right now, trusting that the Father works all things for our ultimate good. Thanks God! Food for Thought.

In thee have I taken refuge, God the strong tower.
 
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'Faithful is the saying' For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him:

'This is a faithful saying,' and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. 'This is a faithful saying', and worthy of all acceptation.

'It is a faithful saying'—If we suffer with Him we shall also reign with Him

'This is a faithful saying', that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works

Edified with Christ; every time we think of Him, His Love, His words, His work, His deeds, His care for the poor and every time we act on His commands, which are all His character in action., we receive His provision.

Psalms 29:1-11

"Give unto the God of Glory worship. His powerful Voice, full of majesty, speaking to us, shaking our wilderness.
In Hebrew the root meaning of the word translated “glory” is “heavy” or “weighty.” It reminds me that our bodies, our abodes of clay which make up our tent or tabernacle at this particular time, will receive a very weighty thing when it will be glorified in our own resurrection of the body. I’m wondering what strength we will need to uphold that standing. Fortunate those whose confidence and trust is in the Lord having also handed over all to His safekeeping.

Psalms 96:7-9,
Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name;
Bring an offering and come into His courts.
Worship the LORD in holy attire;
Tremble before Him, all the earth.

Psalms 68:33
To Him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, He speaks forth with His voice, a mighty voice.

Psalms 26:8
O LORD, I love the habitation of Your house
And the place where Your glory dwells.

Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
 
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The Journey from head to heart is a “3 day” journey but it’s the journey from death to ascension.

“Now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God”

The sacrifice is praise. Finding that place of worship may be a bleak journey where spiritual water is scarce found.

“Then Moses led Israel to journey away from the Red Sea. They went out to the wilderness of Shur, walked for three days into the wilderness, and found no water. “
Yet the rock spoken to followed them into and beyond the promised land.

“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days”

Praise was heard in the temple again.


Knowledge of that which is there for an example, when examined to bring forth praise, is a wise endeavour. God knows.


For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.“


But no one said it would be easy. The bible just says it will be worth it.


In Scripture the number three signifies completeness or perfection and points to what is solid, real, and substantial.


Worship is the reason that God brought them forth from out of Egypt to follow Him.


We too ought to endeavour to get beyond the blindness. Seeing Jesus as He is has been known to produce that effect. The effect that Paul experienced prompted most of the epistles so lots to glean from there also as another example to move forward with. Praise God!
 
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Foundational to the bible is the historical sense , while those seeking wisdom must understand the moral content within the words written (Book of Proverbs) recognizing that one must leave behind the vain things (Ecclesiastes) to hasten on to the eternal lasting things of oneness with the Great “I Am’ (Songs of Solomon) clothed in the images of love.

Scripture is made up of the seen and the unseen things. What can be seen is temporary and what can not be seen is eternal.

1) Scripture consists of the body which is the visible letter,
2) the soul which is the meaning found within it,
3) and a spirit which has something of the heavenly within it.

They serve as the copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary. Therefore let us not seek out the letter (outer shell) but the soul (moral content) and in doing so we will ascend to the Spirit.

Hebrews 8:5
They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one; for Moses, when he was about to erect the tent, was warned, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”​

The church being divided flies in the face of the exclusivity of there being but one way to enter into fellowship with God, which is what the early catholic church attempted to hold to be true, however guided or misguided that may have been.

The unity of that truth is in the cross of Christ. The one essential way to Christ is entering in thru the proper gate. The wilderness tabernacle was both exclusive and inclusive. It excluded all who would not come in the one and only gate but included all who came by the prescribed way.

Like most things that came from foundations I think the hold onto that which is foundational lost the meaning within the action and became a rote rule of thumb guiding the church.

The root is still the same and the abiding of the branches is still the same because they are in Christ while the fruit is what can be seen as belonging or not.

Because there's only one admission ticket into unity and that's knowing oneself to be hopelessly lost w/o Christ Jesus and knowing He has obtained what we could never attain to that had kept us excluded; there's only one entrance remaining into inclusiveness and that's boldly entering in by His provided way after admission of the need for a Saviour.

It's still one tree grafted in.
 
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