Dear blog readers,
Here is an essay that I wrote in the nineties. I have not completely polished it up yet, but I think the work contains a number of points that some might find interesting.
Best,
Edgar
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The Temple of God
Anointed Christians have been given a wonderful trust: they have the inestimable privilege of comprising a temple class. Paul discusses this figurative temple of God in 1 Corinthians 3, thereby demonstrating the importance of treating God's sacred edifice with respect. We ultimately learn that both the anointed and the great crowd have the responsibility of being holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:14-16).
"Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Cor. 3:16 NABRE)
In the past humans worshiped God at different material temples and sanctuaries. The Garden of Eden was the first sanctuary of God: it is also conceivable that Melchizedek worshiped Jehovah in an earthly sanctuary. Furthermore, as time progressed, God ordered the Israelites to build the tabernacle in the wilderness and to construct Solomon's temple on Zion. In Ezekiel 40, the ancient prophet of God was shown a glorious temple and blessed with a grand tour of it. In the NT, Hebrews 8 discusses the true tent that God built in heaven--all of these structures enjoyed divine approval and were used as approved sanctuaries. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul focuses on a different temple: this temple is comprised of living stones.
"And, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Pet.2:5 NAB)
The living stones that compose God's temple have been anointed with the holy spirit; all persons in this group have experienced the special work described at 2 Cor. 1:21, 22:
"But the one who gives us security with you in Christ and who anointed us is God; he has also put his seal upon us and given the Spirit in our hearts as a first installment." (NAB)
This Scripture makes it plain that God works through His anointed congregation since the spirit is not given apart from the temple of God, the "place" in which the spirit of God dwells.
"Through him [Christ] the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." (Eph. 2:21, 22 NAB).
John also professes: "But you have the anointing that comes from the holy one, and you all have knowledge . . . As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you." (1 Jn. 2:20, 27).
These scriptures indicate that God does not work through individuals only, especially through individuals who are not part of the spirit-anointed congregation or associated with it. As a group, God's children have been appointed as stewards of the sacred secrets of God. Jehovah imparts His sacred secrets to the chosen ones (1 Cor. 4:1, 2). With knowledge, however, comes both privileges and responsibilities. In 1 Cor. 3:17, Paul helps us to appreciate what our privileges and duties are toward God.
"If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy." (1 Cor. 3:17) These apostolic words echo the sentiments of 1 Chronicles 16:22: "Touch not my anointed, and to my prophets do no harm." (NAB).
It is a very serious matter for anyone to try wreaking havoc on the temple of God, in any way. Whether one persecutes or opposes those who are part of the true temple, or whether someone attempts to denigrate the congregation of anointed ones--the outcome is the same: if anyone tries to destroy God's temple, God will deal accordingly with that person.
When Paul wrote those words to the Christians in Corinth, there were members of the temple itself, who were doing things to destroy the temple of God. The Corinthians were engaging in schisms and immorality; they were taking their brothers to court and they were not applying biblical standards in their respective marriages. All such actions could result in the destruction of the temple. How apropos Paul's words were! As Christians, we have a responsibility to remain holy before our God. May Paul's warning make us endeavor to uphold holiness in the Christian congregation. In the NAB, an interesting comment appears, "Holy: belonging to God." Since anointed Christians belong to God, may all such ones, as well as the other sheep, remain holy before God.
"What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God." (2 Cor. 6:16 NAB)
16 comments:
This is a little off post but Genesis 3:18. How did the brambles come about?
https://www.kneppestate.co.uk/woodland
"Natural Wood Pasture
In the 1,100-acre Southern Block within the rewilding project where, between 2000-6, our arable fields were simply left fallow after their last harvest and not re-seeded with grass, thorny scrub has spontaneously regenerated over large areas. With no free-roaming grazing animals introduced here until 2008, blackthorn, hawthorn, dog-rose and bramble have had a proper chance to establish. They now provide extremely effective protection for saplings from browsing by our herds of cattle, horses, pigs, and red and fallow deer - nature's barbed wire."
This is a standard response in most forested environments to burning trees and using the ground for agriculture.
Once properly understood, there are no such things as weeds. They are a natural response to a specific condition of bare soil.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBA6fXsJnZc
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Against-Grain-History-Earliest-States/dp/0300182910/
https://academic.oup.com/forestry/article-pdf/78/1/21/1998559/cpi003.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuzLXxbGc4c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMHpz6PS5Ek&feature=youtu.be
https://youtu.be/5r13x3lmIhI
Net bible - The Hebrew term עֵשֶׂב (’esev), when referring to human food, excludes grass (eaten by cattle) and woody plants like vines
http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.5.3.2#
Goats are browsers, tending to eat above ground level, and favour high quality grasses. They can control bramble and other thorny species. They browse broadleaf seedlings more than other species, preventing natural regeneration. They create uneven, tussocky swards.
http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/mediafile/100263349/pg-wt-2014-woodwise-2012-autumn.pdf
👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
Who are Jesus' "other sheep"? John 10:16 interrupts the reflection on relationships, placed within the shepherd/sheep imagery, to refer to the "other sheep" who will also hear Jesus' voice. Elsewhere in the Gospel, such interruptions pertain to future generations of believers (e.g., 17:20; 20:29). It's possible to connect this saying with the Gentiles, "the Greeks," who are mentioned twice (7:35; 12:20-22). By the time the Gospel was completed, the Johannine community was aware of the existence of other Christian communities, especially those tracing their tradition back to Peter (21:15-19), who was given the title "shepherd." This reference could also apply to Christians not part of the Johannine fold.
The sheep previously discussed were the few faithful Jews Jesus directly referred to, as he knows all his sheep, and his infinite love embraces each one. He now clearly mentions those faithful who will be brought into the mother church from paganism by his apostles and their successors in his name. They, too, will follow his lead so that eventually all distinction between Jews and Gentiles will disappear, leaving just one mother church under one head. The prophets often foretold the general conversion of the Gentiles. See Ps. 87; Is. 2:1 and following; 49; 51; 60. This verse, in connection with the next, fills in the thought: I will lay down my life for these sheep as well.
The "other sheep" are the Gentiles, who were outside God's chosen people's fold but whom Christ was destined by God to bring into his fold as well (Ps. 72:8 and following; Is. 2:2 and following; 60). There will be one fold, one shepherd. This does not mean that eventually every person, nation, and individual will convert, but that the dividing wall between the chosen people and the pagans will fall, and all nations will merge into the church, God's chosen people. According to some Scriptures, as the end of the world approaches, great apostasies and unprecedented outbreaks of evil will occur during the time of the Antichrist (Matt. 24; 2 Thess. 2:3 and following).
Therefore, Jesus here announces a hopeful future for all nations. Even when in conflict with his own people, he sees and shows a future where not only his people but also nations, and not just the nations' sons but also his people's members, will find each other and be united with him. Jesus speaks of the evangelistic work among the nations and its hopeful completion and fulfillment, the fulfillment of prophecies (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6; 58:8), in an extremely brief, concise manner but showing a vast perspective. His work, which according to his mission was to be done among the people of Israel (Mt 10:5–6; 15:24), continues among the nations (Mk 16:15; Mt 28:19) and will be successful (Mt 8:11; Lk 13:28). Under the headship of Jesus Christ, the various races of all the nations in the world will eventually unite. It becomes clear that – although salvation comes from Israel – the Savior belongs not only to Israel but to all peoples. Jesus is the redeemer of the world (Jn 4:42; Ezek 37:22–24; 34:23; Hos 1:11; Mic 2:12; Eph 2:14–22; 4:4–6; Jn 17:11,21–23).
It can be easily determined that the "other sheep" are not the supposed "non-anointed" earthly "Jonadab class" of the Watchtower denomination, but rather Christ's sheep of non-Israelite origin.
"My mission is only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 15:24)
The "other sheep" (John 10:16) are not members of some secondary class of salvation but are the sheep not of Israel's fold ("not of this sheep pen"), whom Christ leads to the same place ("I must bring them also"), and with whom there will be "one flock," not a group eternally separated from the first. Jesus never spoke of any 144,000 in the Gospels, on the contrary: John 14:2. In JW theology, the "earthly class" (the Jonadabites) is from the same "sheep pen" as the "anointed class": neither is of a different origin in terms of descent, and there will not be "one flock" of two salvation classes, as they will forever be separated. Revelation 21-22 clearly speaks only of "the righteous" who can enter the heavenly Jerusalem descending to the (new) earth, and the sinners who cannot - thus, within "the righteous," there are not two classes.
In JW theology, the "earthly class" (the Jonadabites) is exactly from the same "sheep pen" as the "anointed class": neither is of a different origin in terms of descent. Jesus said, "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen..." (John 10:14). In other words, 1./ there are sheep that are from this sheep pen, 2./ but there are also sheep that are not from this sheep pen, but from another. This dual-origin group of sheep became one flock. In Jesus' time, this flock was small, hence Jesus calls this flock initiative a small flock. There's no other way to understand it. Further, "And I heard the number of the sealed: 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel" (Revelation 7:4). Note the use of the phrase "from among"! If I select beautiful red apples from a basket of apples, then the number of selected (sealed) apples is less than what was originally in the basket. Even a second grader can understand this. Therefore, if God seals 144,000 "from every tribe of the sons of Israel," then this 144,000 will be less than the total number of members "from every tribe of the sons of Israel." However, if "from every tribe of the sons of Israel" is to be understood as spiritual Israelites, then indeed the spiritual Israelites are more than 144,000. So, this doesn't fit, as the Witnesses call the 144,000 spiritual Israel. On the other hand, if in this context "from every tribe of the sons of Israel" refers to spiritual Israelites, then why are the specific tribes' names listed, such as Judah, Reuben, Gad, etc.? What do these specific names symbolize? Do the spiritual Israelites divide into such groups? It would be interesting to consider further that if the so-called "good" divide into two groups, why couldn't the "wicked ones" also divide into two groups?
Those of the other sheep are not just Gentiles.
And those of the anointed are not just Jews or Israelites.
Romans 2:29
29 But he is a Jew who is one on the inside,and his circumcision is that of the heart by spirit and not by a written code.That person’s praise comes from God, not from people.
Romans 9:6
6 However, it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who descend from Israel are really “Israel.”
Paul, under inspiration, was given the understanding that the Israel of God was now spirit-anointed natural Israelites and spirit-anointed Gentiles or people of the nations.
The prophet Hosea foretold that God, in rejecting the nation of natural Israel in favor of this spiritual nation, which includes Gentiles, would say “to those, not my people: ‘You are my people.’” (Ho 2:23; Ro 9:22-25)
Romans 9:27-29 Moreover, Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Although the number of the sons of Israel may be as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved. 28 For Jehovah will make an accounting on the earth, concluding it and cutting it short.” 29 Also, just as Isaiah foretold: “Unless Jehovah of armies had left an offspring to us, we should have become just like Sodʹom, and we should have resembled Go·morʹrah.”
This remnant that will be saved is what Paul addressed in Romans 11 because most of natural Israel is rejected by God. In Romans 11:13-24 Paul speaks of natural branches being cut off and wild ones being grateful on the root which is Christ. These two groups now become one in Christ. God anoints these individuals and become Israel regardless of whether they are a natural Israelites or Gentiles.
There is one flock, and all are children of God, but some in that flock would be anointed for a special privilege. This similar to how all ancient Israelites were considered sons of God. But among the Israelites some were exalted or anointed for a special purpose.
In the Scriptures it's shows David and Solomon being exalted over Israel and put on the throne of Jehovah per the Scriptures. (1 Chronicles 29:23)
Deuteronomy 14:1 says, “You are sons of Jehovah your God." The Israelites could say, as recorded by the prophet Isaiah: “You, O Jehovah, are our Father.” (Isaiah 63:16)
But notice what God says to David.
Psalm 2:7,8
"Let me proclaim the decree of Jehovah;
He said to me: “You are my son;
TODAY I have become your father.
8 Ask of me, and I will give nations as your inheritance
And the ends of the earth as your possession."
Question: If the Israelites were sons of God, why would God tell David TODAY I have become your Father if Israelites were always his sons?
Something similar was said of Solomon.
2 Samuel 7:12-14
"12 When your days come to an end and you are laid to rest with your forefathers, then I will raise up your offspring(seed)*after you, your own son (Lit., “one who will come out of your inward parts),* and I will firmly establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will firmly establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I WILL BECOME HIS FATHER, AND HE WILL BECOME MY SON. When he does wrong, I will reprove him with the rod of men and with the strokes of the sons of men(Or possibly, “Adam.”)*:
1 Chronicles 28:6
"5 And of all my sons—for Jehovah has given me many sons—he chose my son Solʹo·mon to sit on the throne of the kingship of Jehovah over Israel.
6 “He said to me, ‘Your son Solʹo·mon is the one who will build my house and my courtyards, for I have CHOSEN HIM AS MY SON, and I WILL BECOME HIS FATHER."
So, if you notice the context of these scriptures dealing with sonship to King David and Solomon, it was dealing with them receiving Kingship and authority from God. They were always God's sons because they were Israelites but now David and Solomon entered into a special relationship with God in that they received kingship from God that no other Israelites was given. These statements by God were a unique way of anointing them so that they would receive Kingship.
It's the same with Jesus. He has always been God's Son. Colossians 1:15 shows Jesus as the firstborn of all creation.
Notice how Hebrew 1:5 parallels the angels and Jesus just as 1 Chronicles 28:6 parallels David's other sons and Solomon.
The scripture dealing with Jesus in Hebrew 1:5 (ISV), which says, "For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son. Today I have become your Father"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"?"; is dealing with kingship and authority given to Jesus just like it was given to David and Solomon in a very similar way.
In Job 1:6, Job 2:1, Job 38:7, and Psalm 89:6, angels are called sons of God or sons of the mighty, but none of the angels are given a kingdom and kingship like Jesus. Jesus was exalted over the angels and was given a position far greater than he had before he became flesh or human. While he was a man, he told his apostles that his Father made a covenant with him for a kingdom. This Kingdom was given to him sometime after his resurrection.
2 Peter 1:17
17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory when words such as these* were conveyed to him by the magnificent glory: “This is my Son, my beloved, whom I myself have approved.”
The exalted Jesus receives homage, obeisance, and some would claim worship, but it is never to the highest degree of the One who gave him this authority. (1 Corinthians 15:20-28)
Also, the Father will choose among the flock of true sheep who will be brothers with Christ and sons of God in the sense that they will rule with Christ as Kings and priests and be heirs to the Kingdom. He will anoint these individuals.
2 Cor. 1:21, 22 (NAB):
"But the one who gives us security with you in Christ and who anointed us is God; he has also put his seal upon us and given the Spirit in our hearts as a first installment."
2 Corinthians 5:5
5 Now the one who prepared us for this very thing is God, who gave us the spirit as a token of what is to come.
1 Peter 1:3, 4
3 Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for according to his great mercy he gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance. It is reserved in the heavens for you,
These individuals are adopted as sons in a sense to share with Christ as being heirs and rule as kings and priests, similar to how David and Solomon were anointed or adopted as sons to rule as kings out of the Israelites.
Romans 8:15-17
15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery causing fear again, but you received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which spirit we cry out: “Abba, Father!” 16 The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 If, then, we are children, we are also heirs—heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ—provided we suffer together so that we may also be glorified together.
Romans 8:23
"Not only that, but we ourselves also who have the firstfruits, namely, the spirit, yes, we ourselves groan within ourselves while we are earnestly waiting for adoption as sons, the release from our bodies by ransom."
In Galatians 4:24-30, Hagar figured in a symbolic drama in which she represented the nation of fleshly Israel, bound to Jehovah by the Law covenant inaugurated at Mount Sinai, which covenant brought forth “children for slavery.” But the children of the “Jerusalem above,” are children of a promise, not of natural descent. This shows that the Jerusalem above or the 144,000 would not just be just natural Jews as Paul stated in Romans 2:29, "But he is a Jew who is one on the inside,and his circumcision is that of the heart by spirit and not by a written code.That person’s praise comes from God, not from people."
Hebrews 12:22-23
But you have approached a Mount Zion and a city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, and myriads* of angels 23 in general assembly, and the congregation of the firstborn who have been enrolled in the heavens, and God the Judge of all, and the spiritual lives of righteous ones who have been made perfect,
The Jerusalem above is the congregation of the firstborn enrolled in heaven.
Those of the other sheep do not receive the adoption as sons to rule in heaven. And just like the Jerusalem above is made up of individuals that are natural Jews and Gentiles, so the other sheep are made up of Gentiles and natural Jews.
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