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What is of utmost importance, according to Christ; external or internal purification? Seek first the kingdom of God, and then the rest will follow. Internal, inward purification, is of highest importance and priority to God, external purification is secondary. Jesus' clear words to the religious leaders (the Pharisees and the scribes) in His day: “ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and [a]self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” - Matthew 23: 23-28 (NKJV) In the same chapter He says; “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
Matthew 23: 36-38 "
“And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
Matthew 7: 25-27
They built their house on sand. Grains of sand are very small and I would think they represent the smaller things, of lesser importance: in the outward, in the letter. Not on the Rock, representing the greater things, of great importance, the Inner, the Spiritual. The book of Hebrews teach us that we should not reject the sanctuary, but we should reject an old covenant understanding of it. From the old covenant/pact, which is a very limited and literal understanding, to the new covenant: a more spiritual and deeper understanding. From that which was a shadow of how it actually is, to discern it in a fuller, more complete, deeper and spiritual meaning. This is the reason for most symbols (types). From literal to increased spiritual understanding. We receive grace from God by His Holy Spirit in order to give us power, to be able to discern His ways and teachings. To interpret things in a spiritual way, and not just by the letter (the obvious). Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. A good example is from literal to spiritual circumcision. (Romans 2: 28-29). Though we must be careful to not spiritualize away everything. Then we too would have to reject the ten commandments, including the Sabbath. However, there is also a more complete and deeper understanding of the law. At least that is how I understand it.
It is HOW we read and understand the Law and the prophets.
From outer, superficial, literal, shadows, to deeper, more spiritual and complete.
Which indicates how far we have come in the sanctification, from immaturity to maturity in the higher school of Christ. See also Hebrews chapter 7-10.
While it does not mean that we should not take care of our physical, temporal vessels, there is still a significant difference regarding the emphasis and main focus with regards to the true value in terms of salvation. We are called to take care of our physical vessels, and try to eat healthy, exercise in fresh air, follow hygiene laws etc, but we are not to make this the main theme in our preaching with regard to salvation. That is, we should not present it as if our salvation is dependent on a physical strong health, but that it is of benefit, and that we should care for our bodies too.
To God, the inner values are most important. That we may purify our hearts, our character from the law and spirit of death and this world, to the law and spirit that comes from God. God's law and character are built on Divine love, as an overriding principle, from which all other divine character traits flows. See e.g. James 2: 1 and 8-11, as a good example of such a character trait, more specifically, impartiality.
“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
«- Luke 10: 25.28
Then comes the story about the Good Samaritan. Note the question urged, prior to the this story: "And who is my neighbor?". Also here the character trait of impartiality is addressed. That we should also have love for those who are outside the faith, and have a desire that they should also be saved. We have been called to go out as missionaries and preach the message of salvation to everyone, regardless of external factors, through faith in Jesus Christ and His kingdom. See Galatians chapter 3. His law and doctrine, His character, His spirit. Faith is also a desire to obey and be faithful to the Lord we claim to serve. "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" - John 14:15.
Wanting to serve God is fruit that comes by true faith. We want to assimilate Christ’s pattern if we genuinely have Him as Lord.
The «world» and Satan, who is the prince of this world, makes us overfocus on the outer, physical aspect of things, rather than the spiritual application of things.
Mark the term "overfocus" which is very different from focus. We should focus on it, but not overfocus on it and make it the leading theme.
Many overfocus on the physical, rather than the real enemy, which is a spiritual enemy (Satan and his spirit, the spirit and law of the flesh and the world).
Another example is that many miss out on the real significance of the spiritual application in these end times, by focusing their attention on the physical, literal Israel and physical, literal Jews. Rather than the spiritual, antitypical Israel and Jews. The spiritual application of Israel today is not a race or nationality, but every single person regardless of race, nationality, gender or any external factor (Gal 3:26-29) , if you have chosen the true Jesus Christ as your personal savior, and make Him your Lord and master. You are now according to Romans 2:28-29, a spiritual Jew (regardless of you being a literal Jew or not). We are, both Jew and Greek, all one in Christ, by faith.
Do we want to get closer to the heart of Christ? One example is the beloved disciple, John. Or how Paul described the apostles vs many other Christians, who were not as close to the heart and mind of Christ as the Apostles, who were hated more and judged more because the spirit of Christ and the spirit of the world is completely opposites. See 1 Corinthians chapter 4. And the more a person dies to self, and the further he has advanced on the path of righteousness, the closer he will get to the heart of Christ. All our physical traits whether good or bad, in the eyes of the world, whether nationality, race, skin color, God overlooks and is more concerned about our inner character. As long as we choose Him as savior and Lord, and choose daily to take the path of righteousness, we can have daily assurance of salvation.
“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart”. 1 Samuel 16:7
"For there is no partiality with God.”
Romans 2:11.
"And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.” -Ephesians 6:9
"My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism. “ -James 2:1
“But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” -James 2:9
‘“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise”. -Galatians 3:27-29
“And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction” -Romans 3:22 “Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too”.
-Romans 3:29 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. -Romans 8:1 “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commandments is what matters”. -1 Corinthians 7:19 -------------------------------
Physical temple vs. Spiritual temple
When Jesus died on the cross, there was an earthquake that signalized the end of the ceremonial laws, a shift moving from the law of the old pact to the law of the new covenant. It did not signalize an end to the laws of God, the eternal 10 commandments, written by the finger of God, which is placed also in the heavenly sanctuary. It signalized an end to a seemingly strong focus on the outer, the very literal, temporal and ceremonial. We have the law of God written on our hearts, which is a spiritual and deeper application. We also now have circumcision in the inner being, on the heart, not in the flesh. See Romans 2:28-29 and Hebrews 9:10. Also Hebrews 8:10 describing the new, mature law, covenant and order.
The true baptism, is not so much the ceremonial baptism by physical water, as it is the lifelong baptism, the sanctification, by spiritual water, the holy spirit.
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. “ Matthew 3:11. A process of being purified in your spiritual nature, from the flesh to the spirit and law of God. Note I am not saying we should not have the ceremonial baptism. I arrest the attention with regards to what is of greatest importance. Not either or. Read more on this in the article Consumed by fire into life everlasting or unto death everlasting, here. From this moment there was a significant shift, from a temporary and more or less misunderstood overemphasis on the physical, literal, temporal, the shadow, the type, the illustrations, the figures. God saves everyone in Christ, the antitypical lamb. Christ is the bridge, the link between humanity and God. At His death when He exclaimed "It is finished", the veil was torn that separated the holy place from the most holy place in the sanctuary (temple). This means that all are free to enter the presence of God, by the righteousness of Christ, if we choose to receive it. To become righteous, involve both pardon for our transgressions for repented sins, and power by the holy spirit to be redeemed in the sanctification of God. See Hebrews 12:14. The earthquake that occurred at His death also signified the end of the earthly sanctuary and the old, formal, immature law, covenant and order. Before Christ, they had to sacrifice innocent lambs as a symbol and shadow of the promised and prophecied Messiah, a type of what was to be the perfect fulfilment, the perfect sacrifice for all mankind, in Christ Jesus. After this great shift, there was no more need of sacrificing animals that happened under the old law, covenant and order, which was just a shadow and figure of the fulfilment, the new, mature law, covenant and order they had long awaited. Read more about the old vs the new law, covenant and order here. The majority of the pharisees and scribes, overfocused on the physical and literal and temporal traits and characteristics of Jesus Christ, when He came as a man (God incarnate). And not in any way as impressive and kingly as they had awaited. In their pride, they could not recognize or see his heart, as they were spiritually blind. And spiritually things are spiritually discerned. They only valued the outer, the temporal and literal, which is what the spirit of the world and Satan focus on, as they are preoccupied with the earthly, not the heavenly. Because they were spiritually blind, they also missed out on the fact that He was the promised Messiah. Instead of acknowledging Him as the Son of God, come in the flesh and the fulfilment of the Messianic prophecies, the worldly spirit in them were rather enraged. To the point where they ended up crucifying Him instead. And after they had done this, they insisted in their spiritual folly and missed out on the significance of the physical, earthly temple being torn by an earthquake, at the hour when Christ took His last breath on Calvary and uttered the words: “It is finished.” This signified that He had finally conquered Satan in His last battle as a human here on earth, and had successfully become the antitypical lamb that was to be the atonement for the sins of mankind. That is, those who choose Him as Lord and savior. History has a tendency to repeat itself, and Gods’ people seem to continue making the same mistakes. What is the condition of God’s people today? The God of Mammon, represent in a grander sense, making the physical, literal and temporal into an IDOL (whatever it is), vs the spiritual and everlasting/heavenly things. “ Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” -1 Corinthians 3:16-17 “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” -2. Cor 6:16
Do we see other tragic examples of this in recent history? What about Nazi Germany? What did they focus on and value? It was clearly the physical and temporal “temple” over the spiritual and everlasting. That being said, only God can perfectly judge the spiritual heart and mind of any human being. This is not in any way for humans to judge. Read: 1. Corinthians 4: 3, 5 Whatever judging, in terms of condemning or saving, that the angels and saints will participate in, will take place in heaven, not on this earth. And with God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Son present and with the final authority. The angels and the saved will only see to it that the judgments of God and Christ are just, and that is predominantly why the saints will participate in it during the millennium in heaven, after the second coming of Christ.
Where do we see other overemphasis on an earthly vs a heavenly temple? In the false theory of a coming physical third temple here on earth, which is an interpretation that completely bypass the significance of the spiritual Jews and Israel, which is a fuller, more complete interpretation. According to the new, full law and covenant. What is particularly wrong about this is that they plan to start sacrificing animals again, which was a type, a shadow of the fulfilment that was in Christ Jesus, as our antitypical lamb that everyone is saved by. And hence refuse to see that Christ was the fulfilment of the promise. Hereby also refusing to see that God overlook the outer characteristics like race, nationality, gender etc, as we can read among other places in Galatians 3:26-29. Again, it is the inner man God is mostly concerned about, the formation of our character, which happens by grace through faith in the path towards holiness. “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” - Romans 2:28-29 “ There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 Read Galatians 2:11-21 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. Hebrews 9:9 Read: Hebrews chapter 8-10 When Moses went up to receive the 10 everlasting, heavenly commandments written by the finger of God, what did the Israelites do? They created and started worshiping an earthly, physical god, rather than the heavenly, spiritual, everlasting God. A god they could observe. They were worldly minded, and they walked by sight, not by faith in the unseen. See 2. Cor 5:7. When Christ became furious, as an example of righteous anger, when they started buying and selling in the temple of God, it was in a wider context a symbol of focusing and worshiping the physical, literal, temporal, earthly (in this case money) over the heavenly, spiritual, eternal. “As in the days of Noah…” -people were more preoccupied with the earthly, sensual, temporal affairs more than the eternal, spiritual affairs. Their “eyes” were not lifted towards heaven, rather towards this world and their god, the prince of this earth; Satan. Humanity’s best friend. Why? Because he love his own spirit and law, the natural flesh, which is in complete disharmony or contrast with Christ and His spirit. And thus He favor mankind with the spirit of this world, the natural man without the spirit of God, the spirit of Satan, which represent Himself. He also know that these people are under his banner and by default serve him as lord. SUM UP: Mammon or rather the “god” of this world represent: making the physical, literal, temporal, earthly, the “outward”, the fleshly, into an IDOL, a “god” that is “worshiped”. Hence worshiping the creation, rather than the Spiritual, heavenly, the everlasting, the Creator.
Modern spiritualism also preach against self and materialism. Yet, they still worship the creation vs the creator, only it is packaged in a way where they look to the “heavens” which is more like the observable heaven, not the spiritual dimension. They observe planets and the sky, not the creator of the planets. They also worship the physical and mental capacities and neglect the actual spiritual capacities, even though they claim to be very spiritual. But their version of “spirituality” is still apparant and “outward” in the flesh, whether physical and mental capacities of the heart and mind. As opposed to God, who value above all the spiritual aspects and the spiritual heart and mind, and not in any way in a “new age” spiritual manner. They worship the forces of nature, and the natural and observable, rather than faith in the forces of the spiritual, the genuine holy spirit. So again we see, the sign of God with regards to the spiritual aspects and giving the worship to the true Creator, as opposed to the sign/mark, giving the worship to the natural, the physical the literal and observable (where the latter can include the cognitive and mental capacities). The mark of the beast and seal of God Other mistakes we do by overfocusing on the physical vs spiritual, is with regard to the mark of the beast. Mistakingly believing it is a physical mark, vs a spiritual mark that has to do with whom we worship: The creation (physical, earthly) rather than the Creator (spiritual, eternal/heavenly). This is why the mark/sign of God has to do with a seal identifying Jesus Christ as the CREATOR. While the mark of the beast identify man or a created being or the created as a god”, as authoritative. So when you make the issue of the mark and seal of God versus the beast, about a physical, literal mark, it means you are still under the witchcraft of Satan, the prince of this world. The seal of God is about walking by faith, to put God, the creator, first. Creation (which include the physical, literal and apparant) as second. "a wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away." -Matthew 16:4 The witchcraft of the world is about walking by sight, not faith. "You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?" - Galatians 3: 1-3 Here is contrasted those who walk/act/ work by faith and by the spirit (grace) and those who walk/act/work by sight. Works of faith, of the spirit of God vs Works of the flesh, of the spirit of the world. "Means of the spirit" vs "means of the flesh". What is this seal that identify Christ as the creator? "but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe." Hebrews 1:2 Read more about the seal of God versus the mark of the beast in this article including the links therein, here Have you ever wondered why these false gods/idols that are always temporal and earthly are symbolized with animal heads Think Baal with the head of an ox, the goat of Mendes, with the head of a goat, or Moloch featured as an owl, because this god and this religion is so earthly and temporal and focused on the physical rather than the spiritual, heavenly, the eternal, the divine. By comparison, the false, the Babylonian, is animalistic, beastly. The beast is man as it is in itself, without the spirit of God, which is Satan. (Jeremiah 17:9) It is this beastly form that the world worships, that the humanists worship. Even Nietsche, Hitler and Blavatsky, are by definition driven by this animalistic spirit, because they were so over-focused on judging, and worse condemning, by the more superficial, external characteristics. Even though they are talking about an evolution of man to the next leap, it is still to overfocus on the external and the superficial in man. In any case, they fail to judge the inner, the heart, that only God can know and judge fully. Even if they claim to read minds, read auras, they can still not judge the hearts or motives of the heart. The beast of Revelation will have a pantheistic mindset and worship creation instead of the creator. And the mark of the beast will be identified, by a spiritual, hidden mark, with the "god" of this world, which includes man as they are in themselves without God, as authoritative, in their minds, in their hearts and how they see and judge things. The very symbol and seal of the authority of creation over God, is Sunday worship. A change in times and laws that the creator of the heavens and earth never sanctified, rather He sanctified and blessed the 7th Day sabbath. “Paul’s Concern for the Galatians : Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles (forces) of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years!”
- Galatians 4: 8-10 Continuing on in the same chapter: Galatians 4:13
“---but you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time.” Paul was thus led by the spirit of God, despite having a physical illness, when preaching the gospel. He was filled with the power of the holy spirit in the true name, true teachings and character of Christ. Equipped to be able to discern and preach the gospel by faith, in love (wanting all people, Jews and gentiles, to be saved in Christ Jesus), WHILE suffering with a bodily illness. Let's move to Acts chapter 15: 5-11: “ Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”
The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Compare with Romans 2:28-29
“For he is not a [real] Jew who is only one outwardly, nor is [true] circumcision something external and physical. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and [true] circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by [the fulfillment of] the letter of the Law. His praise is not from men, but from God."
Compare with Romans 14:17
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
So what is grace? Both undeserved pardon for sin and spiritual power from the holy spirit to have the law of God written on our hearts and minds. (by grace through faith). This is the everlasting covenant. See Hebrews 8:10.
So this is inner circumcision. Circumcision of the heart (and mind). Eating and drinking is in the same category of outer circumcision of the flesh, trying to become righteous by outer works. Just like we see in Spiritualism. Depending largely upon food and drink to be saved. While we are of course again to care for our physical vessel too. But it is not the outward purification, outward adorning of the flesh, of the physical, that truly saves. That would be to make the outer circumcision true, meaning from God. It is FIRST an inward work, then outward second, in terms of where our main focus and priority should be. That does not mean we are to neglect the physical cleansing at all.. But if you rely largely on the physical for salvation, that is to rely on physical energies, outer works of the flesh, the religion of Satan, not of Christ. We are to rely on God’s grace, which is spiritual power by His holy spirit, not physical.
We are saved BY FAITH.
What is Faith?
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6 Infidelity is the opposite. To put all your trust and belief and judge everything based on what can be observed or measured, the physical, literal, natural, carnal, sensual. This also include aura-reading, chakras etc, as they measure energy, and deceptively and erroneously claim to be able to connect certain energy levels with spiritual states and our charcater. They measure the physical, by this method and the same goes for medical science faulty claim of measuring levels of neurotransmitters (which they can) and associating them with spiritual states (which they can not). At best they can suggest, but not in any way determine. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned.
(1. Cor 2:14)
Not in a “spiritualistic” way (think New age), but by a fuller or full measure and indwelling of the holy spirit.
However, only God can read human hearts and inner being fully. This world and Satan or the Babylonian Christ, will attempt to, but never manage. Even though his power will be greater than ever before in these end times. But the whole world and even Christians can here be greatly deceived, based on the manner in which they "see" and measure, whether it is based on the standards and authorities of this world, or based on the standard of God, according to His word and according to His Law and government.
Hitler and the nazis, but also Stalin and the communists, both representing the alpha of Apostacy, built their kingdom on sand, not on the rock. Their heart was filled with the spirit and law of this world, not with the spirit and law of Christ. That is why their kingdom fell, appearing good on the surface, but beneath the façade, there were fruits of Satanic horror, not divine love. Christ's kingdom is not of this world. He succeeded because He had heaven in His heart.
If God and Jesus (who are both human and God) had judged the world with the same criteria and standards and beliefs as the Nazis and Hitler, then God would have been evil. We are what we believe, and we are the way we judge from the present moment. A human being is evil in himself, until they are sanctified by the threefold God and receive the faith of Jesus, and have His law inscribed on our hearts and minds. Hitler and Nazism represent exactly what we see today in spiritualism where they judge people based on the more external and superficial factors as opposed to how the true Christ and the true God judge, who judge the innermost soul: our hearts and minds and the doctrine we value and walk and judge by. Therefore, the law and doctrine are of the utmost importance. There can never be true unity for people by such a different faith, the false and the true Christ can never be reconciled.
We are now in the Omega. We are in the final battle...the battle of hearts and minds.
Who will conquer the throne in your heart?
This world, or Christ? Entire series: "The Kingdom of God vs. The Kingdom of this World"
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