Odë:hgöd
Well Known Member
~
When I was a young guy coming of age, it occurred to me that it would be the cat's
meow if I were as naturally pleasing to God as His son Jesus always is, because
then it would be very easy to attain to Heaven and to stay in Heaven without fear
of being kicked out:
"He that sent me is with me: the Father has not left me alone; for I do always
those things that please Him." (John 8:29)
I was very surprised, and excited, upon discovering that something similar to the
thing I wished for is contained in a promise that God made to Moses' people.
● Ezek 36:24-27 . . I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home
again to your land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean.
Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give
you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will
take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart. And I will put
My spirit in you so you will obey My laws and do whatever I command. (cf. Jer
31:31-33)
That benefit was originally intended for God's people but anon became available to
Gentiles too.
● Isa 49:5-6 . . And now The Lord says-- he who formed me in the womb to be his
servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in
the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength --He says: "It is too small
a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those
of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may
bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." (cf. Eph 2:11-19)
And sure enough, the benefit is reiterated in the New Testament per 2Pet 1:3-4
which says:
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through
our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these
He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you
may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption that's in the world."
I should think it goes without saying that the divine nature would be a whole lots
more successful at producing an acceptable level of personal piety than the human
nature could ever hope for because even at its best the human nature is corrupt;
which is translated from a Greek word basically meaning decayed, i.e. seriously
deteriorated; like when road kill is left exposed to the elements for too long.
Decay can be stopped but it can't be reversed, and therein is a serious problem
with the human nature: it's gone beyond recovery and the sensible thing to do now
is take the natural-born human nature out of a man and rebuild him a nature that's
imperious to decay.
_
When I was a young guy coming of age, it occurred to me that it would be the cat's
meow if I were as naturally pleasing to God as His son Jesus always is, because
then it would be very easy to attain to Heaven and to stay in Heaven without fear
of being kicked out:
"He that sent me is with me: the Father has not left me alone; for I do always
those things that please Him." (John 8:29)
I was very surprised, and excited, upon discovering that something similar to the
thing I wished for is contained in a promise that God made to Moses' people.
● Ezek 36:24-27 . . I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home
again to your land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean.
Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give
you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will
take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart. And I will put
My spirit in you so you will obey My laws and do whatever I command. (cf. Jer
31:31-33)
That benefit was originally intended for God's people but anon became available to
Gentiles too.
● Isa 49:5-6 . . And now The Lord says-- he who formed me in the womb to be his
servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in
the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength --He says: "It is too small
a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those
of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may
bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." (cf. Eph 2:11-19)
And sure enough, the benefit is reiterated in the New Testament per 2Pet 1:3-4
which says:
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through
our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these
He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you
may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption that's in the world."
I should think it goes without saying that the divine nature would be a whole lots
more successful at producing an acceptable level of personal piety than the human
nature could ever hope for because even at its best the human nature is corrupt;
which is translated from a Greek word basically meaning decayed, i.e. seriously
deteriorated; like when road kill is left exposed to the elements for too long.
Decay can be stopped but it can't be reversed, and therein is a serious problem
with the human nature: it's gone beyond recovery and the sensible thing to do now
is take the natural-born human nature out of a man and rebuild him a nature that's
imperious to decay.
_
