In the last section we discussed The Trinity as part of the "safety values" system that I'm trying to introduce as a means for healthy spiritual growth. In this segment I’m going to install another “safety valve.”
Before we go any further lets first examine what I mean when I say that I'm going to install a “safety valve?”
What is a safety value? A safety valve is something that is installed to prevent overloads of energy that could cause appliances to overheat. They prevent fires from occurring. The fuse box for your house contains a number of “breaker switches” to prevent overloads of power from being channeled to the appliance that is drawing that power. Again, this prevents fires.
The Bible contains all the power in the Universe. But the problem is that we haven’t tapped into that power. And if we did tap into that power, the question would be this: Do we know what to do with it?
Well, just let me say this: When we tap into that power we are going to need to install a number of “safety valves” to prevent fires from breaking out all over the place. After all, the house we live in is called the Earth. What does that mean? We’re trying to prevent catastrophes from breaking out.
So, how do we do that? We install “safety valves,” of course. What that means, in this context, is to make sure that everyone understands what’s in the Bible, across the board, so everyone has the same opportunity to live the peaceful life the Bible promises to all. The point, in this context, is this: We can tap into "the things not seen" and somehow get lost in that excitement and forget about the fundamentals of the faith. We want to be sure that people understand the fundamentals before we, actually, try to tap into "the things not seen."
Trying to understand the fundamentals is pretty difficult to do, in this day and age, because of how wide spread interpretations of the Bible have become. In this country alone, it seems, there is a church on every block. Or, if you go to a bookstore, you’ll find books without end on the subject of Christianity or spiritualism.
It seems that no one really knows what is truly being said in the Bible other than Jesus is the Christ. And there are different opinions on just what that means. What we’re going to do is cut through all the rhetoric and get to the truth of the matter.
Before we dive into all that we have to understand that there are different views of what the Bible is saying. There are two main views of how the Bible is to be interpreted. That’s with a literal and figurative interpretation. What we’re going to do is dissect the Bible so that we can know what is literal and figurative by the time we’re done with the protocols.
The first perception to incorporate into this thinking is that the Bible; from the first verse in Genesis to the last verse in the Revelation, it is considered to be truth. That’s why there are so many interpretations of the Bible. People read different sections and think that they have the “truth” of the matter, so they build their ministries based on that "truth."
But what does the Bible says this on the subject?
1 Corinthians 12:1-7
1. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
2. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
3. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
4. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
6. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
7. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
We see, in verse 5-6 that there are different “administrations and operations.” But we also see that the Lord is working in it all. The intention is for the different administrations or operations to profit if they show “the manifestation of the Spirit.” (That’s not always the case, but that isn’t the subject of this segment.)
All of that is fine! But the time is going to come when this passage comes into play:
Ephesians 4:1-16
1. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2. With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3. Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5. One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10. He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
14. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
So, here we see that the different administrations and operations are, in theory, “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” That, of course, is until we get to verse 12-13:
“For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:”
At some point the whole idea is so that “…we all come in the unity of the faith…”
What does all that mean? It means that the time is coming when everyone is going to know what is in the Bible like it’s common knowledge. There will be no more confusion. That means no more secrets, no interpretations and no more divisions. It’s going to be plain and simple to understand what’s in the Bible.
While I did introduced the idea of tapping into the “things not seen” earlier, the main idea is for you to come away knowing what’s in the Bible as a priority. Or better yet, to be able to open up the Bible and understanding what you’re reading.
So, again, we need to install a few “safety valves” so we can “…all come in the unity of the faith…” and there can be an expression “…of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:”
OK…so, lets start with the installing of the first “safety valve.” This is found in Matthew 6:33-34 as a priority teaching.
33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
There are a number of things in this passage, but, first, we’re going to stick with the linguistics of what is being said here. In this case, that would be trying to understand what is meant by the phrase: “the kingdom of God.”
This verse is what is supposed to be a priority in a believer’s life. After all, this is about people’s lives and what Jesus has to say about it. But it also brings on the conflict between living in a system where material possession was, and still is, the means by which we try to survive in that system, and, yet, still be faithful and true the Lord/God and His Kingdom's principles.
Surviving in the system and being faithful to God is pretty hard to do if we don’t have a clear understanding of, exactly, what “the kingdom of God” is.
At this point I want to use the ideas that the philosopher Heraclitus introduced about the "logos", which I intoduced in the section 2. Repent/Reform Introductory Package: a, to give you an idea of where we’re going: He spoke of the “World-Whole” with the definition of that idea as follows:
“The world represents for him a reciprocal relationship between the objects and with the whole, into which man himself is drawn, on account of which he is also capable to reason. Hence he recognizes universal laws within himself (physical/mental) and the laws of his own being in the world-whole (metaphysics).
This “world-whole”, however still remains “world”. It must not be interpreted transcendentally; in fact, the thought of transcendence does not yet exist.”
There are three things in this that I’m going to describe within the context of scripture. In other words: I’m going to describe what scripture says about these three things: But before I do that, lets point out the three things, once again.
1. The universal laws that exist in us. (Biology/Psychology)
2. The object that exist in the “World-Whole” as we understand it. (Physics)
3. The transcendence. (Whatever is “out there.”)
I’m going to introduce all three and describe them throughout the protocols. But for right now I want to focus on number one. That’s what we’re going to deal with first.
What does scripture say about it?
Matthew 6:24-34
24. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28. And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29. And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32. (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Here we see, between verse 24-32, that Jesus is addressing both our physical and psychological concerns. The things we need in life to live in peace. And He goes on to say that the “things not seen” will provide us with those needs, if we seek it out from its source.
At this point lets take a look at the source and how it connects with the biological and psychological aspects of our being.
The first thing we have to do is define one aspect of "the kingdom of God," which can be found in:
Romans 14:17-19
17: For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
18: For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
19: Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
In this passage, the Apostle Paul clearly defines what "the kingdom of God" is. He says that it’s not “meat and drink” but rather “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
What does all that mean? And how does it relate to our biological and psychological needs? That’s what we’re going to examine next. But we have to break it up into its own three categories.
1. Righteousness
2. Peace
3. Joy in the Holy Ghost
What I’m going to do is explain how "righteousness" is a direct reference to the conscience. And how "peace" is a direct reference to our mental state of being that comes to us as we obtain accurate understanding of what righteousness consists of. And, finally, how "joy in the Holy Ghost" is a direct reference to our emotional condition. Theoretically speaking, if we seek the meaning of these three things, righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, and implement their virtues into our being, we will have our biological/physical and psychological needs met.
With that said, let's get started with defining:
RIGHTEOUSNESS
From Matthew 6:33 we see that we’re instructed to “…seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things (our needs) shall be added unto you.”
Then in Romans 14:17 we see that “the kingdom” is defined as “….righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
Now we have to backtrack to get to the roots of its definition. This has to be a step-by-step procedure, so we have to go back a few steps to get an understanding of, exactly, where the idea of “righteousness,” comes from. In the context of Romans 14:17-19, it comes from:
Romans 4:1-3
1. What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2. For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Here we see that the Apostle Paul references Abraham when he introduces the idea of “righteousness.”
At this point I want to say this: I’m not concerned with explaining righteousness in regards to justification. I’ll leave that to your Pastors and Preachers. What I’m concerned with is examining the “works of righteousness.”
Continuing, so, according to Romans 4:1-3, we have to go back to the original text to see what is recorded about Abraham in regards to righteousness.
In Romans 4: 1-3 the Apostle Paul is referring to:
Genesis 15:1-6
1. After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
2. And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3. And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
4. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Let's, now, take a look at what’s going on here.
1. The passage starts with “After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision”
2. It was “the word” of the Lord that “came” unto Abram. (The Hebrew definition for "word," in this context, is: Dabar (pronounced: dä·bä')
3. The word "Dabar" is a bit different than the Greek word, "Logos." (I'll separate the difference between the two as they are applied in our lives as we get further into the presentation.)
4: The "Dabar" “came” to Abram in a vision.
5: “God” brought him abroad and told Abram to “look toward heaven.”
6: Abram believed that the Lord was "talking to him" and the Lord counted that belief as an act of “righteousness.”
Starting with number one and two of the list above, in the Strong’s concordance the phrase “…these things the word…”: interpret to the Hebrew word Dabar. Actually, its “things” and “word” that have the Hebrew definition “Dabar” attached to it.
This implies that the part that reads: “…these things…” is in a direct reference to the “things not seen” described in Hebrews 11:1, which I pointed out in 2-a) of the protocols.
The key here is the first word in the "After these things the word of the Lord…” phrase in Genesis 15:1. The word, of course, is “After.” That implies that before Genesis 15 occurs, something had already happened that led to the content of what’s being said in Genesis 15: 1-6.
At this point I want to go back to Genesis 14 to see what happened.
Genesis 14 is the account of Abram’s nephew, Lot, being taken captive by a number of, what seems to be, “world-leaders/tribes.” At this point I don’t want to get into the dynamics of what happened that led to the invasion, I want to focus on what happened after the invasion. That part is described in verses 14-24 of Genesis 14.
Genesis 14:14-24
14. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
15. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
16. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
17. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.
18. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
20. And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
21. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
22. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
23. That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
24. Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
In this sequence we see a number of “things” that happened before Genesis 15. Lets take a closer look at, exactly, what that might have been.
a) Abram invaded the “world leaders/tribes” camp to retrieve the things, which, to Abram, represented an emotional investment that he didn’t want to lose.
b) The “most high God” delivered Abram’s enemies into his hands. (Victory over the loss of his emotional investments.)
c) Abram had the opportunity to come away with the spoils of war. (Material prosperity)
These are the “things” that occurred prior to Genesis 15 and from what I understand, these things were provided by the “things not seen” described in Hebrews 11:1. That’s why "...these things..." has the “Dabar” as the definition for “things” in the Genesis 15:1 passage. It’s the “Dabar” that is the source of the “things not seen.” Or the “things not seen” is, in fact, the “Dabar.”
In Genesis 14 we see that it's the “things not seen” that is manifesting itself into the physical realm, as a substance of things hope for, on the behalf of Abram, the father of the faith. But before these things happened, in the physical realm, they first had to be visualized in Abram’s mind. And, according to my theory, before they manifested themselves in Abram’s mind, they were already in play in the conscious of the “Dabar.”
In other words: The “Dabar” was using Abram to execute judgment on the invading Kings. That was the plan of the “Dabar.” And because Abram had first "sought the kingdom and its righteousness," material possession was added to his life, if he chose to accept it, just like Jesus promised in Matthew 6:33.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
What more can a person ask for? That would be victory over your enemies, love, protection, care for your loved ones and material wealth? Abram should have been on top of the world! He knew that the possessor of Heaven and Earth had provided these things for him. Those "things/the dabar" came from the “things not seen.”
Can you imagine that? Knowing that the “things not seen” had just provided everything you could be concerned about in this physical life? Now, that's prosperity! That's life changing! But still, it's not about the things that God provided. But knowing that God provided them, which means that God exists and is communicating with Abram. That’s big stuff! That's the knowledge that counts. To know, without a doubt, that there is a God and that He's fellowshipping/talking to us?
Now, “After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision.”
As if the prior events weren’t enough to convince Abram that God was able to perform beyond his wildest expectations, the “Dabar” came to Abram in a vision and said: “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”
At this point the question has to be this: What more could Abram want? Or the better question has to be this: What is it that Abram feared?
This becomes clear in Genesis 15:2-3
2. And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3. And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
OK, let's get into what’s really on in Abram’s mind. He wants a child. And if my understanding is correct on this matter, it’s a son that he wants.
What does this imply?
It implies that Abram is concerned with his mortality. He wants an heir because he knows he’s going to die. My thinking here is this: At that time, the idea of “living forever” was caught up in having sons to carry on the seed or the name of the father. That would be a legacy to be remembered by, if you will.
To a certain degree, that still goes on in today’s world. One psychological aspect of a man’s mind, in sowing his seed, is to live forever, if he can, through his sons or as many children as possible. That’s what Abram wanted from the Lord. He wanted to address his mortality and no amount of glory, fame or material possession could replace the inner need to ask: What happens to me after I’m dead? (Fear of the unknown)
This is what the book is all about. It’s about eternal life in Christ-Jesus. And that’s a “safety valve” teaching.
In other words: No matter what you hear about the Bible and what people say it teaches, nothing is supposed to be above the idea that your main concern is having God deal with your mortality. That’s why Abraham is called “the father of the faith.” He expressed the inner question that all of us should be asking God. What happens to me after I’m dead?
THAT'S WHAT OUR MOTIVE SHOULD BE!
When you come to terms with that, then you can start to experience “the kingdom.” And, as we've discussed, the kingdom is based on three things: “Righteousness, Peace, and Joy in the Holy Ghost.”
In plain words: Righteousness is being in communication with God. Another way of saying it is: What is God speaking to you about? If we have a healthy understanding of the voice of God in our lives, what God is speaking to us about is first, and foremost, our mortality. When we allow God to address our mortality to us in an intimate encounter, it is then we experience what it means to be righteous before God.
Again, in other words: He's talking to us about our mortality and what makes us righteous is the "belief," in our "hearts" that it is God who is speaking to us. That belief, in the context of God addressing our mortality, is what is counted as righteousness. God is "talking" to me! What makes me "righteous" is that I "believe" that it's God who is "speaking" to me and I respond accordingly. This is called getting your life's priorities in order because we're all going to die.
OK, this is just an introduction to what’s important, as far as how to develop a healthy spiritual life goes. But I’m nowhere close to explaining what all this stuff means in detail. But this segment is getting too long and I need to break it up into another section. So, I’m going to break it off right here and pick it up it in the next segment.
End of: 1st Safety Valve: The Motive: Part 1.
mike t.
P.S. In “1st Safety Valve: The Motive: Part 2” I’m going to get into some serious detail about what “righteousness” means. Again, to continue with that idea on this post…well, its just too long and details are starting to get crossed up. So, I’ll separate those details in the next segment.
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