This will better appear, if we consider the
degree and manner in which he aimed at the creature’s excellency and
happiness in creating the world; viz. during the whole of its designed
eternal duration; in greater and greater nearness, and strictness of
union with himself, in his own glory and happiness, in constant
progression, through all eternity. As the creature’s good was viewed,
when God made the world, with respect to its whole duration, and
eternally progressive union to, and communion with him: so the creature
must be viewed as in infinitely strict union of himself. In this view it
appears, that God’s respect to the creature, in the whole, unites with
his respect to himself. Both regards are like two lines, which at the
beginning appear separate, but finally meet in one, both being directed
to the same center. And as to the good of the creature itself, in its
whole duration and infinite progression, it must be viewed as infinite;
and as coming nearer and nearer to the same thing in its infinite
fullness. The nearer anything comes to infinite, the nearer it comes to
identity with God. And if any good, as viewed by God, is beheld as
infinite, it cannot be viewed as a distinct thing from God’s own
infinite glory. The apostle’s discourse of the great love of
Christ to men, (Eph. 5:25, &c.) leads us thus to think of the love
of Christ to his church; as considering with his love to himself, by
virtue of the strict union of the church with him. “Husbands, love your
wives, as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it—that he
might present it to himself a glorious church. So ought men to love
their wives, as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth
himself—even as the Lord loved the church; for we are members of his
body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” Now I apprehend, that there is
nothing in God’s disposition to communicate of his own fullness to the
creatures, that at all derogates from the excellence of it, or the
creature’s obligation.
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Forums / Main Forum / Re: "Is Jesus the Lord of your life?"
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on: February 07, 2009, 11:32:12 AM
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Jesus is Lord because everything is centered
around Him. Everything has been placed under His feet. He is the God of
the universe. The heaven is His throne, that is He rules from eternity
so that everything that comes into reality was cause by Him. He is on
the throne. In this sense there is nothing that we ever do that He has
not ordered from eternity. When He speaks it happens. He stills the sea,
he brings in the winter, he hurls down hale like pebbles. He blows the
cold air. He has spoken His word as in creation as He speaks His word in
the new creation. The Lord is the wisdom of God. Salvation is
of God. Salvation is in God. God caused salvation, God sustains
salvation, and God will bring the culmination of salvation. He Himself
brought redemption to man. Salvation is not of man. Because we have a
Savior we have our Lord. Every time God works in this world He works
through deliverance. Salvation is our deliverance from this world and
the god of this world into a new realm of the Lordship of Christ.
Because we are in Christ then we do everything as if He was representing
Himself. There is nothing that has not been taken care of by Him in
order for us to not come in His name. We hide in the name of Jesus from
the troubles of this world. Since He is Lord then we have full
protection from the schemes of men and t he wiles of the devil. We look
to Him as Lord because we know He loves us as our Savior. He protects us
because there is nothing that transpires in the world that He has not
ordered for our good and His glory. So that He has given Himself for us
so that we might rest in His rule. He has cause us to rejoice in Him so
that we will not be troubled by having to be anxious about anything
else. He has made it so that we are enabled to focus on Him and find all
we need in wanting only Him. He is the beginning and end of our
salvation.
| 5589
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Forums / Theology Forum / Re: predestination
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on: February 07, 2009, 09:35:56 AM
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If the prophets spoke of the future events in
detail then God was bringing about that event through the wills of men.
If God was simply looking at an event with His acting following that
event then He could not have spoken about the details of how men chose
to accomplish that event in its perfect time. Gods decrees are fixed
just as His laws are fixed. 11 Kings 19:17Behold, the days come,
that all that is in thy house, and that which thy fathers have laid up
in store unto this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be
left, saith Jehovah. 18And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, whom
thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the
palace of the king of Babylon. 19Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good
is the word of Jehovah which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, Is it
not so, if peace and truth shall be in my days? This prophecy
was also in effect a prediction of the moral conduct of the people, in
upholding their schismatical and idolatrous worship until that time, and
the idolatry of those priests of the high places, which it is foretold
Josiah should offer upon that altar of Bethel. Edwards 1 Kings
13:1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of
Jehovah unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn
incense. 2And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and
said, O altar, altar, thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a son shall be born
unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he
sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee,
and men's bones shall they burn upon thee. 3And he gave a sign the same
day, saying, This is the sign which Jehovah hath spoken: Behold, the
altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
4And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God,
which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth
his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he
put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back
again to him. 5The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from
the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the
word of Jehovah. 6And the king answered and said unto the man of God,
Entreat now the favor of Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, that my hand
may be restored me again. And the man of God entreated Jehovah, and the
king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
| 5614
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Forums / Theology Forum / Re: Romans and the Flesh Monster.
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on: February 03, 2009, 02:50:54 PM
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I will tell you something that was just laid
on my heart here. I understand these things are very complex. I know by
experience that in this life we are most miserable in all of this. Well i
guess.... maybe there is some sorrow. I agree that is the process...
the pressing down is extremely hard at times. These truths and the
reality of living in light of the joys we experience have an effect that
last a little while.... well the overwhelming part of Gods
communications to us. I think maybe we are encouraged to press down
because of our weakness. And then we struggle with taking these things
as a free gift and turning them to our own power thinking.... maybe what
i am saying is that the potential does not change, that is the
potential to receive this grace upon grace, but something changes in us.
Maybe
there is this tendency to think that if we are receiving this divine
over flow that it is brought along by our humility, or our seeking, or
our position as being able to recite these things as if we were doing it
out of sheer hard work. Ok.... so we lose our understanding of grace...
i mean we become like beast , if we think that God is in some way
entrusting these deep things to us to hold onto or to forget so easily.
Ok.... here we come to the sorrow of dealing with our flesh. I mean
since we receive and press down we may out of our own natural way begin
to be less discouraged with our reasons for receiving it when we first
came to Him. Ok.... you know when we look back there was something that
was apparently having a bad odor coming from within. Just because we
have been in this process for awhile then we think that God is somehow
more able to accomplish these things through us because of our track
record. Now then its not so much the fact that we are creatures of habit
that this is less of a sorrowful condition, but its because we have
lost a sense of the glory of His grace in this condition. I think our
presuppositions inhibit the free flow of the gifts of His grace more
than we think the evil of our pride does. This is the refining of our
intentions. There is always a free open and honest freedom in this
access. I mean we are different than we were at the beginning. Even our
sins are a little different. Ok.... the access may be wider, the freedom
may be more understood, but our intentions may not be strong enough to
take all of this in. After all this is so big it just swallows us up. I
mean isnt that what the text is saying? At one point we are attributing
evil to our pride more than we need to and at the other side our courage
is limited by our weakness in frame.
Ok.... we are in this
present deli ma. It looks the same as always. But maybe its a bigger one
and a more profound experience. But we have come so many times t o the
throne of grace and we have seen some real miracles. Now we think that
God is not bigger than this. I mean surely God is going to limit it this
time. Now that is our naturalness in being weak in opening up to Him
this time. But we must be determined that this will be more of an open
plea than the last time. This time we are going to find our motives and
our desires to understand and we are going to communicate them in the
most open way. We must not look back in the wrong way.
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