NarrowRoad

In this part, we begin our analysis on the question of why God made these Abrahamic promises and why make these promises to Abraham, rather than Enoch, Noah, Job, or another person of God. Our analysis begins at the beginning, when Adam and Eve was instructed to rule over the earth. Genesis 1:26-31. Then, Satan deceived Eve and Adam joined Eve in her sin and man fell to the dominion of Satan. Accordingly, Satan, having conquered man, became the ruler over the earth. It was at this time God foretold to Satan of a time when a man of the seed of “the woman” would be victorious over Satan, essentially, retaking the dominion of the earth. To discover the identity of this “woman”, we inspect the surrounding text to obtain clues and then refer to Revelation 12, Romans 11:26, Hebrews 12:22, and Galatians 4:26-31. After a thorough investigation, we discover the identity of the “woman” is the heavenly Jerusalem, or Zion. We link the woman and her seed with Christ and his seed and discuss why the woman was barren until it was time for Christ to appear. We discuss how the children of the woman, or the free Jerusalem, belong as a member of a New Covenant people of God joined together as an ekklesia of God, and who are destined to retake dominion of the earth. In the next part we will continue our analysis of the aforementioned question to make some observations using the discoveries in this part as the context on which all else relies.

In this part, we dive deep into Galatians 3. We analyze a proposed solution to the meaning of vs.1b regarding the public portrayal of Christ's crucifixion. We also discuss the description of the reception and working of the Spirit in the gatherings. The observation is made that Paul is actually describing the initial inauguration of the gatherings as New Covenant temples of God, and the continual workings of the Spirit in the gathering by way of miracles performed among them. We then review the teachings of the last part regarding vss. 6-14. Continuing on to vs. 15, we propose some ideas as to when the covenant of Abraham was ratified. At this point, we proceed to investigate fully the statements by Paul regarding the promises being made to one seed, not seeds. Concerning this, we discuss the seed of Christ referenced in Isaiah 53:10-11 and the Branch of the Lord referenced in Jeremiah 23:5; Isaiah 11:1-3, 4:2-6; and Zechariah 6:11-13. We also take note the truth of the seed of Abraham being the seed of Christ does not preclude the prophesies concerning the restoration of Israel, as physical descendants of Israel. See Deuteronomy 30:1-14, 4:29-31; Hosea 3:5; Jeremiah 32:37--44; Ezekiel 36; Zechariah 8:7-8, to name a few. Finally, we closely examine vss. 20-22 and propose what is suggested to be a better solution to the meaning of "and the mediator is not of one, and God is one" in vs. 20.

In this part, we mainly focus on the purpose of Paul’s writing of the letter to the Galatians. To do this, we sift through the entire letter to glean from certain passages the arguments and approach of the circumcision party being used to persuade the ekklesiai in the Galatia region to adopt the Law of Moses, including circumcision, as the governing law of the gatherings. Once this is accomplished, we can better understand the purpose of the inclusion of certain narratives concerning his personal life and his competency in understanding both Judaism and the Lord’s Gospel. We can also understand why certain subjects regarding Abraham, circumcision, the Law, and Law of liberty in Christ are being addressed in detail. This type of approach should be employed each time before attempting to understand any epistle of the New Testament. Then, using the framework of the Lord’s Gospel explained in the series and the first series entitled, The Lost Ekklesia of God, one can achieve a much higher level of understanding the epistle than could otherwise be achieved. In the next part, we will focus squarely on Galatians 3 to thoroughly explain the meaning of Abrahams seed as explained to us by Paul.

In this part, we continue our detailed examination of the promises made to Abraham by looking closely at those promises involving the gifting of Canaan to Abraham and his seed for an everlasting possession, establishing God’s covenant with Abraham and his seed in their generations as an everlasting covenant to be their God, describing Abraham’s seed as numerous as the stars in the sky, anointed as father of many peoples, and so on. We compare the references to Abraham’s seed to Paul’s explanation of the meaning of Abraham’s seed in the context of promises made to Abraham. See Galatians 3:16. We review why no Jew would believe that Abraham’s seed referenced in the promises could refer to all Abraham’s natural descendants. Clearly, the seed of Ishmael, Esau, and the six sons of Abraham and Keturah would be excluded from the covenant promises though all were natural descendants of Abraham and likely even bore the sign of circumcision. Instead, it was the one seed of Jacob, aka Israel, through which the covenant promises were passed. However, Paul argues that the one seed was not the seed of Jacob, but the seed of Christ, though Christ had no physical descendants. In the next part, we will take a deep dive into the letter to the Galatians and discuss the Old Testament passages that refer to the seed of Christ as support to Paul’s argument made in opposition to the false teachings of the circumcision party, who clearly did not understand the Lord’s Gospel of the kingdom of God as well as Paul.

In this part, we begin a detailed examination of the promises made to Abraham, and the direct link of those promises to us today. We discuss the meaning of these promises made by God to Abraham and his seed, and how they are of critical relevance to our understanding of the type of faith that will deem one justified by God, and the kinds of “faith” that will not. Explanation is given as to why anyone seeking to be justified in the eyes of God must vigorously study the life of Abraham to glean the necessary spiritual insights God intended to convey to all who desire to become a member of Abraham descendants who will share in the inheritance promised to Abraham and his seed. This is just one of more parts to come that I hope will fully explore all of these issues.

In this part, we continue our analysis of the Abrahamic Covenant by further examining the role of Abraham’s obedience of God’s commands as necessary for the fulfillment of the promises given to Abraham. We distinguish between promises given to a people that are conditioned upon the obedience of the people (e.g., Old Covenant promises made to the people of Israel), and unconditional promises given to a people that are confirmed by the obedience of the people (e.g., New Covenant promises made to authentic New Covenant believers). Of course, the promises made to Abraham were unconditional but confirmed by Abraham’s obedience of God’s charge, commandments, statutes, and laws. See Genesis 26:5, 22:5-19. In addition, suggestions are made as to how these four categories of instructions of God identified in Genesis 26:5 might be distinguished from one another.

In this part, we begin to explore the commands given to Abraham in conjunction with the unconditional covenant God stated He would establish between Him and Abraham and Abraham's descendants. We explore the endless nature of this covenant with Abraham and his descendants, and the truths this interminable characteristic reveals. We also take note of the parallels among this covenant with Abraham, the Old Covenant with the people of Israel, and the New Covenant with the New Covenant believers.

In this part we follow up with Part 8 and continue our deep dive into God's command to make Him our refuge. We analyze more passages and focus on the requirements one must fulfill in order to avail himself of God's attention and protection. Just as one must meet requirements to avail himself of the provisions the world has to offer, one must also meet certain requirements to avail himself of the provisions God has to offer. The difference, of course, is that the world does not have the power or the interest to fulfill the promises made to the disciple of the world, no matter how well the disciple has fulfilled the world's demands, whereas God has both the power and the eternal faithfulness to fulfill every promise made to a true worshipper of God.

In this part we begin our study of the Abrahamic Covenant, the first covenant of which the core elements are designed to apply to all peoples chosen by God to be a party to a covenant with Him. We will start by exploring the first element of the Abrahamic Covenant requiring Abram to separate himself from the common means by which the world offers provisions, safety, wealth, health, and community to those dwelling on the earth. By doing this, Abram may only seek God as his refuge to care for himself and his family. We examine multiple passages leading to the conclusion that before Abram could answer God's call to permanently separate from his country, relatives, and father's house, and sincerely take refuge in God, he would have to be fully persuaded that God was his Heavenly Father, who loved him as a son.

In this part, we examine why God passionately desires to create New Covenant kingdoms of God on earth in this New Covenant age. God is not pleased, or interested, with the common practice today, and many generations prior, of treating one's spiritual growth as a solo journey. Just as the Old Covenant was designed for a people of God, so is the New Covenant designed for a people of God, not persons of God. The mystery as to why this is important to God was revealed to the apostles, as Paul explains in Ephesians 1, 3, and 5 how the perfected administration of the glorified kingdom of God will take form. As the Grand Ekklesia will play an essential role in the governing of all creation, God has made it a top priority that this design be imaged on earth during this age as a revelatory illustration of what is to come. Any true person of God given the grace to see through the lies and deception of the church system dogma should be adamantly seeking, through prayer, fasting, and preaching to all who will listen, the creation of a New Covenant kingdom of God in which he might become a citizen, priest, and body member to serve the ekklesia for the rest of his days here in this life.

In Part 6 of this series on the Lord's Gospel, we review the lessons from the Parable of the Two Sons and the Parable of the Landowner and then explain in detail the meaning of the Parable of the Unrighteous Steward (Luke 16:1-13). In this parable, Jesus advises those disciples who may be currently benefitting from the system of the Jewish religious establishment to make friends with those to whom the kingdom was to be transferred so as to be welcome in the coming New Covenant kingdoms of God, operating as ekklesiai of God meeting in homes. Several Jewish believers likely benefitting from the establishment system heeded Jesus' counsel in this parable, such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who buried Jesus' body, and those Jews who sold property owned in Jerusalem to financially enable the extended stay of those new converts who had travelled to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost festival (Acts 4:32-35). This parable demonstrates the new kingdom Jesus brought was not a delayed kingdom but rather a kingdom brought within the same generation of Jesus, in fact, within a year from the telling of this parable.

In Part 5 of this series entitled The Lord's Gospel, we review the Parable of the Two Sons and closely examine the Parable of the Landowner in Matthew 21:33-44. In these parables, Jesus is foretelling the transition of the kingdom of God from the Old Covenant as the shadow to the New Covenant as the image. In the next part, we will examine another parable where Jesus gives advice to those from whom the kingdom is being taken though it appears there weren't many who took Jesus' advice to heart.

In Part 4 of this series on the Lord's Gospel, we analyze in detail the Parable of the Tares Among the Wheat. We conclusively show the parable is referring to the New Covenant kingdom of God since the parable doesn't fit other expressions of the kingdom of God on Earth or Heaven, including the Old Covenant kingdom of God, the Millennial kingdom of God, or the Glorified kingdom of God. Another point not made in the video is that the kingdom referenced in this Parable of the Tares concerns an unperfected people of God, or a kingdom in an unperfected state, which has yet to "sprout and bear grain". Accordingly, this attribute immediately distinguishes this kingdom from the perfected kingdoms of the Millennium and the final glorified kingdom.

In Part 3 of this series of the Lord's Gospel, we explain why one would expect Jesus, as the mediator of the New Covenant, to initiate a new kingdom of God on earth. We confirm the fact that the New Covenant was designed for a people of God, not individuals. Just as the Old Covenant, including its Law of Moses, was designed to govern a people within a kingdom of God, the New Covenant, including its Law of Christ, also was designed to govern a people within a New Covenant kingdom of God. We also confirm that Jesus enacted the New Covenant with the inauguration of his sacrificial blood. Now, one would not expect Jesus to enact the New Covenant thousands of years before there was a need for it. Accordingly, it is much more reasonable to conclude the New Covenant has been utilized by several New Covenant peoples of God forming multiple New Covenant kingdoms of God as Paul demonstrated to us in his letters describing the ekklesiai of God to which Paul committed his life to establish and serve.

In Part 1 of this new series entitled The Lord's Gospel we examine multiple scriptures where Jesus associates his gospel with the kingdom of God he is bringing to his sheep. We also contrast the description of the gospel given by Jesus with the gospel as described by the Church. The contrast is stark. So much so, one is forced to conclude the Church's gospel must be categorized as a false gospel having the potential of leading hoards of people into the pit. Accordingly, it is critical to fully and accurately understand the entire true gospel as proclaimed by the Lord Jesus Christ. (To do this, one must, as some point, become well familiar with the teachings of the ekklesia of God set forth in the first, and unfinished, series posted on this channel entitled The Lost Ekklesia of God.) Future teachings in this new series will further explore why one should expect Jesus, as the mediator of the New Covenant, to bring a new kingdom of God to earth as part of his ministry. In fact, it would have been extremely odd and puzzling if he hadn't. But, of course, he did. Yet, this kingdom that was the focal point of his teachings and ministry has been ignored and counterfeited for generations. It is past time all those sincere true worshippers of the Father and His Son repent from their past ways and become obedient to the commands and teachings of Christ to seek the kingdom of God he brought to his sheep to worship in spirit and truth.

In Part 2 of this series, we consider Luke 17:21 more closely. We go into depth as to how Jesus and his 12 disciples formed the first ekklesia of God, or new kingdom of God, Jesus was bringing as the mediator of the New Covenant. We examine multiple passages showing the equivalency of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, also referred to as the Spirit of Christ, in the role as the paraclete within a New Covenant people of God. We explore how the paraclete is a "Helper" and a two-way "Advocate" who most often advocates on behalf of God to the people of God as to how to know God and complete the way of salvation. In the next part we will explore why it makes sense that Jesus came to set up a new kingdom on earth.

A freedman of God hosting a journey to discover the lost ekklesia of God. As we continue this mini-series exploring how one obtains eternal life, in this episode we explore in some detail an example of how the ekklesia of God operates as a light that exposes deeds and attitudes of darkness that need to be purged from the hearts of some to achieve peace among the members as referenced by Jesus in Mark 9:49-50. This example is found in the letter by James. To better understand the approach taken by James in addressing the errors of the recipients, we examine a few passages that give us certain insights into journey taken by James in discovering the truth about his brother, Jesus. These passages also reveal James’ evolving thoughts on role of the Law of Moses under the New Covenant initiated by Jesus through his sacrifice. Having this background understanding, we can better analyze how the counsel of James in addressing the problem issues completely parallels with the teachings of Jesus, Paul, and Peter. Absent the ekklesia, it is unlikely the worldly attitudes and behaviors would be exposed in these individuals and, even if exposed, there would not exist the effective means of purging such impurities from their hearts, in the manner of confessing sins to one another, in order to achieve progress in their pursuit to obtain the righteousness of God. This is why Jesus couples together the pursuit of the kingdom of God with the pursuit of God’s righteousness in Matthew 6:33, as the ekklesia of God is the primary means provided by God under the New Covenant to effectively seek His righteousness and conform to the person of Christ.

A freedman of God hosting a journey to discover the lost ekklesia of God. As we continue this mini-series exploring how one obtains eternal life, in this episode we focus on 1 John 1:5-2:6 to discover the power of the ekklesia of God to cleanse one from all unrighteousness. If we walk in the Light, i.e., according to the commands of Christ as the Light of the kosmos, we have true fellowship with one another as we fellowship with the Father and His Son. This holy fellowship may be called to form a New Covenant people of God that constitutes an ekklesia of God wherein the full benefits of such a fellowship may be realized, since the ekklesia of God, as the New Covenant kingdom of God, is the primary means of sanctification provided to us under the New Covenant. We also explore other passages such as 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, Ephesians 5:26, Titus 2:14, and Hebrews 9:14 to provide a fuller context and confirm the truths learned in our study of 1 John 1:5-2:6.

A freedman of God hosting a journey to discover the lost ekklesia of God. As we continue this mini-series exploring how one obtains eternal life, in this episode we discuss how the teaching of the ekklesia of God was lost by examining in detail 2 Peter 2. Also, we explore the parallels of the effects of this lost teaching on the remnant ones born of the Spirit today, with the effects experienced by those born of God in Jesus’ day living under the leadership of the Pharisees who “neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faith.” Matthew 23:23. It is submitted that the effects are similar in that the remnant ones are found to be poor in spirit, mourning, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and sometimes persecuted for the sake of righteousness. These are the characteristics that are grouped together in Luke’s account of the teaching of the beatitudes found in Luke 6. We consider why Luke chose to focus on these 4 characteristics out of the 9 reflected in Matthew’s account (Matthew 5) and suggest these 4 characteristics may be unique to those authentic followers of God who live in a dark land in the shadow of death, similar to how the righteous Lot “felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by [the] lawless deeds” of those living around him. 2 Peter 2:7-8.

A freedman of God hosting a journey to discover the lost ekklesia of God. As we continue this mini-series exploring how one obtains eternal life, in this episode, we explore some things one should expect if walking in the Light in this New Covenant age. In seeking the kingdom of God, the seeker will certainly be longing to be a member of an image of the kingdom of God, i.e., the ekklesia of God, wherein truth and transparency prevails. This is why many are not interested in pursuing an ekklesia of God, as they prefer the darkness wherein they can hide the evil deeds they so much enjoy. John 3:19-21. The church system provides such darkness and shadows that will allow the members to keep secrets and maintain a clean image among the other members, as Ananias and Sapphira attempted to do within an ekklesia of God, resulting in their deaths. Acts 5:1-11. It is very dangerous to attempt keep secret evil deeds within a gathering in the Light. See Luke 12:1-3; Matthew 10:24-39; Ephesians 5:6-10. This is because the Holy Spirit dwells in the gathering, Christ supervises over the gathering as the Head, and the members are children of the Light prone to expose evil deeds done in secret. Accordingly, God’s design for the gathering of New Covenant believers makes it much more difficult to engage in hypocritical conduct as the Pharisees and those embedded in the church system so often employ. However, it isn’t impossible, should the members become unresponsive to the messages from Christ and the Spirit and, instead, “participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness,” that spawn from “immorality or any impurity or greed.” Ephesians 5:3, 11.

A freedman of God hosting a journey to discover the lost ekklesia of God. As we continue this mini-series exploring how one obtains eternal life, in this episode, we delve into the meaning of darkness and light as applied in the prophesy of Isaiah 9:1-2, reiterated by Zacharias’s prophesy in Luke 1:76-79, and fulfilled in Matthew 4:12-17. We examine the natural consequence of a land under the dominion of Satan, that leads to widespread deceptive false teaching, creating darkness, that leads to unrighteous, i.e., evil, deeds, that leads to death. Thus, all those sitting in darkness are in the shadow of death. We discuss how many unrighteous, or evil, deeds do not appear evil to man as they may align with the standards that man has created to categorize the deed as righteous. If it were easy for most to identify true righteous deeds from those that are unrighteous, Satan would not be living up to his reputation as the Great Deceiver. Yet, Satan continues to thrive as the Great Deceiver by appealing to the hubris of every generation to believe they have special wisdom and discernment their forefathers lacked, and portraying any truth teller as a fringe babbler that needs to be ignored. In the alternative, we discuss how Jesus, as the Light of the kosmos, spoke the words of the Spirit, who gives life. John 6:63. A gathering or individual under the dominion of God produces true teaching that results in righteous deeds that leads to life. The word of the Spirit feeds a living spirit, strengthening the spirit and weakening the flesh. This is why Jesus is called the Bread of Life. We also examine how Jesus identified the “key of knowledge” of salvation that the Pharisees had “taken away” from the people, resulting in the inability of the Pharisees to enter the kingdom and the hindering of others attempting to enter. See Luke 11:52, 42-44; Matthew 23:23. Such circumstances is also present today as the church system has taken away the ”key of knowledge” of salvation by abandoning the teaching of the ekklesia of God in this New Covenant age. As almost all the commands of Christ are made in the context of an ekklesia of God, the abandonment of this teaching has made it nearly impossible to understand the New Covenant way of salvation, which certainly hinders, if not prevents, anyone who might attempt to enter the kingdom of God.

A freedman of God hosting a journey to discover the lost ekklesia of God. As we continue this mini-series exploring how one obtains eternal life, in this episode, we begin examining the meaning of Jesus coming as a Light shining on those sitting in a dark land, living in the shadow of death, and how this spiritual condition may apply in our time. Yet, just prior to the coming of Jesus, a messenger from God was sent, named John the Baptist, to prepare for the ways of God to be accomplished through the ministry of Jesus, as the Messiah. These ways of God are discussed in a broad fashion in Malachi 3, which we probe in depth. P.S. Please forgive the intermittent interruptions due to a nagging cough plaguing me at this time.

A freedman of God hosting a journey to discover the lost ekklesia of God. As we continue this mini-series exploring how one obtains eternal life, in this episode, we dive deeper into the requirement of repentance and how we must persevere in repentance so that the light in you does not become darkness, or the salt in you does not become tasteless, or the truth you have received is not choked out by the concerns of the world or wither due to a fear of, or intolerance for, persecution and affliction. We discuss a variety of warnings given by Jesus containing this same theme in different contexts. Then, we examine a passage where Paul shares his personal testimony of those things of extreme value in the world he left behind, as acts of repentance, with no regrets, for the surpassing value of knowing Jesus as the Christ, obtaining the righteousness that comes from God, and knowing the power of the resurrection of Jesus and fellowship of his sufferings. It is only when one “stays salty” can he bear fruit of eternal value and be rewarded with eternal life.