The day before

Some of us don’t have a single issue being able to highlight the divinity of Jesus Christ, while others have a hard time dealing with Christ’s humanity, wanting to keep everything about him completely otherworldly. Many of the great artists of past, who painted about saints, Mary, Jesus would put halos over the heads of those people represented in scripture. Those halos would represent something otherworldly, keeping those apart from all of the rest of us in statute and stature.

While the truth is, Jesus became a man, taking on humanity, and lived through all of the muke and mire that meant. From the point of Jesus stepping up and beginning His ministry, His Work He was sent to do was His focus.

I always wondered about the days before He began this work, here was a guy who didn’t sin ever. How was He thought of, what was His reputation among His peers, it sounds to me as I read the text, He was just another guy until

“And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?”

We can spend time talking about all things that occurred from that time forward but think about it, a sinless person lives a sinless life among those He grew up with, and they thought nothing of Him more than anyone else. We should not put halos on anyone’s heads, or lift anyone above the rest, I don’t care who it is, from saints on, it does not matter. We are all cleaned by the one who saves and redeems us, not by our personal holiness. Those God did use greatly, He didn’t use them because they were great, they submitted, and God used them to do great things. God, who is faithful, remains the same today as He ever was, and will continue to be forever.

@kellyjay said We should not put halos on anyone’s heads, or lift anyone above the rest, I don’t care who it is, from saints on, it does not matter.

Why don’t you direct your post directly at sonship and his thing for Witness Lee, if that is who you are referring to?

@divegeester said
Why don’t you direct your post directly at sonship and his thing for Witness Lee, if that is who you are referring to?

That comment went down like a pork pie at a Jewish wedding dive.

@divegeester said
Well that comment went down like a pork pie at a Jewish wedding dive.

Well I’m not here to be popular divy...

@divegeester said
Well I’m not here to be popular divy...

Fat chance of that happening, even by accident dive...

@divegeester said
Fat chance of that happening, even by accident dive...

Listen divy, why don’t you just focus on your own posting style and content and leave me to mine, huh?

@divegeester said
Listen divy, why don’t you just focus on your own posting style and content and leave me to mine, huh?

Suit yourself dive.
But you know no one here likes you don’t you?
Not even the atheists!

@divegeester said
Suit yourself dive.
But you know no one here likes you don’t you?
Not even the atheists!

Oh do shut up you tart!

@divegeester said
Oh do shut up you tart!

That’s exactly the kind of attitude I’m talking about.

There’s no helping some people 🙄

@KellyJay

I too have noticed that for 30 years God as a man lived in a town apparently smoothly blending in with the surrounding society. He created no tumultuous stir we are told about.

This is to me a great miracle perhaps. God as a man just mingling in with the surrounding sinful people as a sinless neighbor.

We get some more hints of how He was viewed by his neighbors in the prophecy of Isaiah 53.

He was not attractive outwardly. And nothing outward was desirable about Him. There was no Hollywood like attraction about Him in physique.

It appears men hid their faces from Him. I might take this to mean His honesty was so penetrating that people with concealed motives intuitive realized nothing in them was hidden from their gaze.

"He has no attracting form nor majesty that we should look upon Him, Nor beautiful appearance that we should desire Him. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, And like one from whom men hide their faces, " (Isa. 53:2b,3)

@sonship said
@KellyJay

I too have noticed that for 30 years God as a man lived in a town apparently smoothly blending in with the surrounding society. He created no tumultuous stir we are told about.

This is to me a great miracle perhaps. God as a man just mingling in with the surrounding sinful people as a sinless neighbor.

We get some more hints of how He was viewed by his ...[text shortened]... and acquainted with grief, And like one from whom men hide their faces, " (Isa. 53:2b,3) [/b]

My wife and I were discussing this last night. When we are speaking about walking a sinless life, if we are putting halos on people's heads who in scripture did things, we turn that into an unattainable goal. From there, it becomes effortless to say, "Nope, cannot do it, no one can."

Our issue with God is then going to be when we accept that; it is God calls us too stop sinning, repent, and love one another. Another sad thing is if we do that, we justify our staying in sin, keeping unloving attitudes, it justifies it all about us we know need to change. If we go there with the approach, "I'm just made this way," we then are forgetting the word "repent" and remember God calls us to be Holy as He is.

Is it too hard too? If all we are called to do is what is right and to take care of each other!

@sonship said
@KellyJay

I too have noticed that for 30 years God as a man lived in a town apparently smoothly blending in with the surrounding society. He created no tumultuous stir we are told about.

This is to me a great miracle perhaps. God as a man just mingling in with the surrounding sinful people as a sinless neighbor.

We get some more hints of how He was viewed by his ...[text shortened]... and acquainted with grief, And like one from whom men hide their faces, " (Isa. 53:2b,3) [/b]

I agree when they look for someone to play Jesus in movies, it should have always been the plain-looking unassuming person they could find, instead of a handsome actor.

@kellyjay said
I agree when they look for someone to play Jesus in movies, it should have always been the plain-looking unassuming person they could find, instead of a handsome actor.

And (more importantly) Arabic/Israeli rather than Robert Powell...!

@KellyJay

My wife and I were discussing this last night. When we are speaking about walking a sinless life, if we are putting halos on people's heads who in scripture did things, we turn that into an unattainable goal. From there, it becomes effortless to say, "Nope, cannot do it, no one can."

I know.
I wrote a thread way back called "Don't be too hard on yourself". And I meant it.

You see what God wants is a corporate expression of Himself living in a body of believers. The age of the individual spiritual giant is coming to an end.

God sends some who seem as individual spiritual giants to us - unattainable. But this is not His goal. His intention is that with ALL the saints we apprehend the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Don't be too hard on yourself. More than individual scattered precious stones He desires a builded up house of spiritual stones corporately displaying the riches of Christ.

HE WILL ALLOW US TO OVERCOME SOMETHINGS INDIVIDUALLY. He will reserves some victory for being BUILDED up in a corporate setting with others in love.

Ie. That Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are and to know the knowledge surpassing love of Christ. (Eph. 3:17-19)

the unsearchably rich Christ is unveiled in the corporate building up in forgiveness and love. And some individual victory is seemingly postponed until WITH someone else, in love, in forgiveness, you two or more can pursue Christ collectively.

This is why two or three gathered together in His name brings in His presence. But the gathering must be for the express purpose to gain more of Christ - "gathered in My name".

The collective pursuit of Christ in an atmosphere of forebearance, love, forgiveness, mutuality, edification will unleash deeper experiences of Christ.

So we need a private pursuit. But it is crucial that we also have a collective pursuit. We can start with just our spouse. We can continue with one or two others.

Great personal victory is unleashed in the corporate setting.

Our issue with God is then going to be when we accept that; it is God calls us too stop sinning, repent, and love one another.

Even more that it is Him that does so FOR our building up into a corporate Body of Christ. This building up of a corporate Body solves not just our purpose to be overcoming but His eternal purpose to secure for Himself a dwelling place in a group of children who are built up together in His life.

"Lord, YOU need me to overcome for YOUR purpose to build me up with others into your spiritual house."

"You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house ..." (See 1 Peter 2:5)

Ie. "Lord Jesus, You need the spiritual house. Lord Jesus conquer this weakness in me for the sake of the building up of the spiritual house YOU desire to fulfill YOUR eternal purpose."

Units of two or three in homes gathered for the express purpose, not to gossip, or worldly talk, or jest, or argue about doctrines or politics, but to absorb Christ in His living word, will unleash greater and deeper personal victory.

The we can be rooted in Him as a living plant is rooted in the soil. And we can be grounded in Him as a sturdy building with strong foundations.

The Don't be too hard on yourself thread was a abbreviated attempt to bring out this which I have learned in the church life.