Divine Nature

Minister Monardo · Jun 12, 2024

2 Peter 1:

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,

3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,

through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises,

that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature,

having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

There is a common false teaching that there is nothing we can do to live a blameless life,

but to live by faith, trusting in the "finished work of the Cross". Consider today the

blatantly unscriptural nature of this teaching. We must obey the Holy Spirit for us

to "grow in grace, and the knowledge of (the intimate experience, not" knowing about")

our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Continuing with Peter in our walk in the Spirit.

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,

6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,

7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful

in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness,

and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

I find the shortsighted abound on Christian forums, laying stumbling blocks,

and challenging us with a "do nothing lest you be guilty of trying to earn salvation".

The "finished work" is a work in progress for us of the faith, and in the fellowship.

Philippians

1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,

5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,

6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work

in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only,

but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,

15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault

in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ

that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

Titus 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly,

that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works.

These things are good and profitable to men.

2 Peter 3:

17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall

from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked.

18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Grip Docility · Jun 12, 2024

Mr. M said:
There is a common false teaching that there is nothing we can do to live a blameless life,

but to live by faith, trusting in the "finished work of the Cross". Consider today the

blatantly unscriptural nature of this teaching. We must obey the Holy Spirit for us

to "grow in grace, and the knowledge of (the intimate experience, not" knowing about")

our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Continuing with Peter in our walk in the Spirit.

Instead of being a bull in a china shop,

Could you please define these underlined terms a bit more via your personal thoughts as you wrote this? I indeed teach the red part. I never mute that the Holy Spirit is at work within us, but He does His thing. That J hook on the staff, it has a purpose. I want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding you.

Do we both agree that the work you discuss that is done by God, not US isn't completed until the seed of the Sarx (Flesh) dies and releases the fully Clothed in Immortality SOUL?

I don't want to get caught "Collecting Sticks" on the "Hebrews 4" "Sabbath", which of coarse is Jesus Christ. Is it wrong to do good on the "Sabbath"? Absolutely not. Can one jot or tittle of our "human efforts" assist in our salvation?

Asking, not assuming.

Minister Monardo · Jun 12, 2024

Grip Docility said:
Can one jot or tittle of our "human efforts" assist in our salvation?

You are asking for quite a bit, which is great, I quoted quite a few verses, so let's start here.
First of all, we are not applying human effort, and what we are assisting is one another, for
the perfection of the saints in Christ, by the fellowship of saints in glory, as we together grow
from glory to glory.

Mr. M said:
His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,

Mr. M said:
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises,

that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature,

Mr. M said:
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith

Therefore, we are not applying human effort to salvation, we are giving all diligence
to apply the great and precious promises to preparing Christ's Bride, to be presented
without spot or blemish.

1 Corinthians 14:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

One of the more relevant weaknesses I find in the saints, and I try to point this out often,
is that the apostolic doctrines expressed through most of the epistles are addressed
to the church, and our individual perfection and the body of Christ are inseparable.

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus.

Grip Docility said:
Do we both agree that the work you discuss that is done by God, not US isn't completed until the seed of the Sarx (Flesh) dies and releases the fully Clothed in Immortality SOUL?

If you would post the scriptures that support this statement,
that is where we will find agreement.
I'm not going to do all the work here.

Grip Docility said:
That J hook on the staff, it has a purpose. I want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding you.

I don't know what this means. And of course, the work is done by the Holy Spirit,
working that divine life into us through the fellowship of the saints.

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The false teaching I am referring to is anything that opposes the apostolic doctrine,
that we must "show all diligence" for the sake of the Body, and this self-centered
interpretation of salvation that neglects our obligations to one another as "works
based salvation". This is our endeavor!

Ephesians 4:3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Okay...the J hook on the staff, if you mean attending to the "wandering sheep",
then that is in line with what I am stating above.

Grip Docility · Jun 12, 2024

Mr. M said:
You are asking for quite a bit, which is great, I quoted quite a few verses, so let's start here.
First of all, we are not applying human effort, and what we are assisting is one another, for
the perfection of the saints in Christ, by the fellowship of saints in glory, as we together grow
from glory to glory.

Therefore, we are not applying human effort to salvation, we are giving all diligence
to apply the great and precious promises to preparing Christ's Bride, to be presented
without spot or blemish.

1 Corinthians 14:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

One of the more relevant weaknesses I find in the saints, and I try to point this out often,
is that the apostolic doctrines expressed through most of the epistles are addressed
to the church, and our individual perfection and the body of Christ are inseparable.

Amen!

Mr. M said:
Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus.

Mr. M said:
If you would post the scriptures that support this statement,
that is where we will find agreement.
I'm not going to do all the work here.

Hebrews 10:36 For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.
37 For yet in a very little while,
the Coming One will come and not delay.
38 But My righteous one will live by faith;
and if he draws back,
I have no pleasure in him.
39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and obtain life.

Isaiah 8:17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.

"For you need endurance"... this echo's both of our concerns and marries them into scriptural unison.

Now comes the difficult part... A large portion of scripture speaks in the NT as if we aren't immediately Heaven bound. This is because people forget that Jesus was the Literal fulfillment of 90% of all OT "Eschatology". Because of this, much of NT writing is to reassure Israel that the promises of Jesus Christ are now fulfilled. He left some matters unfinished for very good reasons. This said, there are future specific words within the NT that create Future eschatology. I'll just say it. God merged Himself in very Being into our lives, by "marrying" humanity in FLESH, spiritually speaking. The Future will involve the eradication of wickedness and just as God became Flesh, Heaven will merge with our universe. All this said, the Saints immediately headed to Heaven Promise, upon death, was fully subject to this very word "acharit-hayamim ", which we find here;

Hebrews 1:2 But now, in the acharit-hayamim....

The Hebrew phrase acharit hayamim translates to "End of Days" in English and is the Jewish eschatological word for fulfillment of what the OT Jews believed to be Jewish Eschatological events. Needless to say, Jesus accomplished bringing "The First Resurrection" forth. This is why I used this verse within Hebrews. Salvation from Sheol is now.

The seed portion of my initial statement is a specific derivative of 1 Corinthians 15, when read in totality. Paul drops the word fool quite a bit within it.

Mr. M said:
The work is done by the Holy Spirit,
working that divine life into us through the fellowship of the saints.

Amen!

Mr. M said:
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Amen!

Mr. M said:
The false teaching I am referring to is anything that opposes the apostolic doctrine,
that we must "show all diligence" for the sake of the Body, and this self-centered
interpretation of salvation that neglects our obligations to one another as "works
based salvation". This is our endeavor!

Amen!

Mr. M said:
Ephesians 4:3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Apostasy has a way of "disturbing the peace." It would be nice to have Campfire discussions that go so deep into ponderance that amazing thoughts can be expressed, without having to go back and defend the "Milk".

Mr. M said:
Okay...the J hook on the staff, if you mean attending to the "wandering sheep",
then that is in line with what I am stating above.

Boy oh boy do I know that J hook well!

Minister Monardo · Jun 12, 2024

Grip Docility said:
The seed portion of my initial statement is a specific derivative of 1 Corinthians 15, when read in totality. Paul drops the word fool quite a bit within it.

Yes, this culmination of Christ's finished work pertains to the Resurrection,
as 1 Co 15 is fully dedicated to this:
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

There is one point that Paul makes in this teaching that I feel the church
has turned on its head.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

Presently, so much emphasis is placed on going to heaven as a blessed assurance,
that the work of the Spirit through and in us is being neglected, to the extent that
the Spirit is now saying:
"If it is only in the age to come we have hope in Christ, we are of men most pitiable."
What has happened to "occupy until I come"?
The apostolic doctrine is primarily dedicated to life in this age, as the Spirit has dictated:
Luke 1:67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

An important and widely neglected prophetic word!

Grip Docility · Jun 12, 2024

Mr. M said:
Yes, this culmination of Christ's finished work pertains to the Resurrection,
as 1 Co 15 is fully dedicated to this:
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Amen! or "So Be It!"

Mr. M said:
There is one point that Paul makes in this teaching that I feel the church
has turned on its head.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

Presently, so much emphasis is placed on going to heaven as a blessed assurance,
that the work of the Spirit through and in us is being neglected, to the extent that
the Spirit is now saying:
"If it is only in the age to come we have hope in Christ, we are of men most pitiable."
What has happened to "occupy until I come"?
The apostolic doctrine is primarily dedicated to life in this age, as the Spirit has dictated:
Luke 1:67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

An important and widely neglected prophetic word!

This is a good point. I will dispel my urge to speak humorously and just express that when I finally "Could See", after Sincere Repentance, the Apostasy that is so rampant within the Brick and Mortar really UPSET me beyond words. It took me years to find forgiveness in my heart over the matter.

Now, that I view the Invisible Body as the very Chains that Bind Satan, via the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ within us, I understand that the Darkness we are supposed to dispel is Hopelessness, Pain, Suffering, Emptiness and so many other matters of darkness that all humanity suffer from! We really are empowered to drive away despair!

I'm not making excuses, but instead pointing out how the Devil has effectively salted much of Western civilization to the ONE TRUE GOSPEL. So many people know a "counterfeit" form of Jesus that they reject, that they are unfamiliar with the true LIVING WATER that sees through EYES of Compassion to all mankind.

The Spiritual Gospel is most critical, for sure, but the need for the Physical Gospel seems to be growing! I'm a "Member" of His Body! We are all HIS Trusted Body. I think I will place a prayer here that Jesus will reveal how I can respond to this burden that is growing within my being. There are many buildings of Brick and Mortar. There are other opportunities that seem to be necessary to move people Godward, by God that are much closer to how Jesus initially ministered while here on earth. I'm not saying healing and such, but I am saying unconditional Love that Loves first and speaks only when listened to. I don't speak of "tactful Love" to WIN people over, but instead, application of the fruits to the Lost and those in painful need of physical ministry. I don't really even comprehend what I'm saying as I type this, but it is for certain a genuine matter.

I feel impressed to say that your words impressed me to express this, as they do move the Body to action, in many ways.

jonojim1337 · Jun 16, 2024

For a long time I did not understand why a God, or even The God, had to die for my sins. I thought, and I still think, that my sins are relatively petty in comparison. In any case, it doesn't really weigh the necessity for a God, or THE GOD, to die for my sake. Besides, is it not in his capacity, or even his character, to forgive? Whence the necessity, for anyone to die? But this is a deluded gospel. He did not come to die for us, but to CALL us. He came to CALL even the worst of sinners, so that anyone may be put to shame, who do not believe in the BLOOD.

trophy33 · Jun 16, 2024

jonojim1337 said:
For a long time I did not understand why a God, or even The God, had to die for my sins. I thought, and I still think, that my sins are relatively petty in comparison. In any case, it doesn't really weigh the necessity for a God, or THE GOD, to die for my sake. Besides, is it not in his capacity, or even his character, to forgive? Whence the necessity, for anyone to die? But this is a deluded gospel. He did not come to die for us, but to CALL us. He came to CALL even the worst of sinners, so that anyone may be put to shame, who do not believe in the BLOOD.

It is better to think about it as God paying for the sins and imperfections of all the creation - everywhere and in all times.

You are a part of it, but its not "just for you".

jonojim1337 · Jun 16, 2024

trophy33 said:
It is better to think about it as God paying for the sins and imperfections of all the creation - everywhere and in all times.

You are a part of it, but its not "just for you".

There is no payment if you are still a slave of Satan. This is the crux of the matter. More like Judas selling his soul for a piece of land. Everyone seems to like that transaction.

trophy33 · Jun 16, 2024

jonojim1337 said:
There is no payment if you are still a slave of Satan. This is the crux of the matter. More like Judas selling his soul for a piece of land. Everyone seems to like that transaction.

I do not understand what you are saying.

jonojim1337 · Jun 16, 2024

trophy33 said:
I do not understand what you are saying.

If there is sin in our lives we have not been set free from Satan - meaning we have not been bought. We are called, but few are chosen.

Grip Docility · Jun 16, 2024

jonojim1337 said:
If there is sin in our lives we have not been set free from Satan - meaning we have not been bought. We are called, but few are chosen.

1 John 1:8

trophy33 · Jun 16, 2024

jonojim1337 said:
If there is sin in our lives we have not been set free from Satan - meaning we have not been bought. We are called, but few are chosen.

I reacted to your post that where you say that it seems petty for Jesus to die for you.

jonojim1337 · Jun 16, 2024

trophy33 said:
I reacted to your post that where you say that it seems petty for Jesus to die for you.

I did not say that. I said it seemed redudantant, taken at face value. And besides, don't we die in our sin, anyway? Whence the salvation?

jonojim1337 · Jun 16, 2024

Grip Docility said:
1 John 1:8

Well if I recall correctly the next verse says that he will forgive our sin. Hence how is it possible to continue in sin?

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