Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Word Study
By Apostle George L Maitland
1) The record of the creative act is found in Genesis 1:26-27
i) Genesis 1:26-27 (New International Version) 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
ii) Genesis 1:26-27 (King James Version) 26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
(1) 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
2) This is God's intent for the Ministry of man encompasses the total purpose, assignment, potential, passion, and design of man as an entity.
3) Here are the critical principles and bedded in this first mission statement of God.
a) Man was both created and made
i) Both of the words “created” and “made” are important and are distinctively different in the original Hebrew language
ii) The word “created” is from the Hebrew word “bara” which means to create from nothing.
iii) The word “made” is from the Hebrew word “asa” which means to form from something that that already exists.
iv) Man is the integration of the parts that were created from nothing and things that preexisted already.
(1) Man is spirit
(2) Man is created as a copy of God spirit, but given a likeness of flesh to have dominion through colonization of Earth.
(a) It is the spirit (image) that is the truth and source of judgment.
v) This describes the production of man's spirit being directly from the spirit of God
(1) Man is given a soul through which to receive the will of God (THE WORD OF GOD) and a body to manifest that will in physical form.
(a) The Spirit is the Seed (Male), Soul is the Womb (Female), and the Body is the physical manifestation agent in the earth.
(i) 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (See Above (a))
vi) Man is a composite of the nature, attributes, and characteristics of his Creator/YHVH source.
vii) The Creator/YHVH is the source of all mankind.
(1) In the Hebrew which Genesis was authored, the word “ABBA” translated and revealed later by Jesus Christ as “Father”, means “source”
viii) The Creator/YHVH is the source of all mankind, and mankind possesses his nature and likeness.
b) Man is made in God's image
i) The Hebrew word image here is not referring to physical likeness.
(1) The original Hebrew words for image are “tselem” and “demut”.
(2) The Hebrew words “tselem” and “demut” mean - the essential nature, copy, characteristics, in essence.
ii) These words tell us that man is a spirit being and the expression of God's moral and spiritual nature.
iii) These attributes make man like God in essence and nature.
iv) These attributes place man above and beyond all other earthly creation.
v) Man is created in the God class and is given the responsibility to exercise that quality as God's agent on the Earth through God’s Spirit within him.
(1) Eternal life is life and lifestyle at God's level.
(a) God gives men eternal life through Jesus Christ (whom is the Word of God)
(i) Eternal life is known as the abundant life that Jesus Christ gives us. (John 10:10)
(ii) John 10:10 (King James Version) 10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly
1. Notice that anything that comes to tell man differently than he has the life of God is “THE THIEF”
c) God created man
i) The word “man” in Genesis 1:26-27 does not refer to gender as in male, but is the Creator/YHVH’s given name for the species of spirits that came out of his spirit.
d) The Creator/YHVH said let “THEM” have dominion over the earth
i) This statement contains the transfer of power and authority from God to man, from the realm of heaven to Earth, and from the unseen world to the visible world.
ii) It is the delegation of man's responsibility for management and ruler ship over the Earth.
iii) When the Creator/YHVH spoke these words, he establishes the conditions of his relationship to Earth through mankind.
iv) He established mankind as the only legal authority on Earth, with power of attorney to act on his behalf.
v) Man is a legal entity through which God exercises his supreme power and inherit rights as Creator/YHVH.
vi) Man is granted inalienable rights: incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred by his Creator/YHVH.
vii) Jesus Christ, our Lord, the embodiment of all authority, demonstrated and exemplified this perfectly and his earthly walk.
viii) Jesus is our example and embodiment of dominion and the standard by which we judge ourselves.
(1) There is no other legal judgment in heaven and earth by which man is judged other than the life of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(2) He is The Word of God that was spoken in the very beginning, the mandate and mission of man.
(a) The Word of God is Jesus Christ (The Word became flesh and dwelt among us)
(i) in the original language “The Word of God” Logos
1. Logos defined as – The original intention that was spoken by God in the beginning.
(3) Jesus Christ is the standard, the Word by which we live and move and have our being.
(4) The word of God is mankind's dominion, because he indwells the believer personally, to execute the rule and authority of his sons. He is the King and the kingship of the one who born from above.
e) Let them have dominion
i) By this statement the Creator/YHVH expresses clearly and emphatically why he created man.
ii) The statement clarifies his expectation of man's behavior and quality of life here on earth.
iii) The statement establishes man's assignment and the standard of success for his existence.
iv) The Creator/YHVH using the word “dominion” lays the authoritative foundation for the kingdom concept as it relates to God's purpose and plan for ministry.
By Apostle George L Maitland
1) God gave man power when he gave him dominion. (Gen 1:26-27)
2) Man was created to exercise power and designed to manage it.
3) The motivating purpose for the creation of the human species was to dominate the earth and its resources.
4) Man is the Creator/YHVHs desire to extend his ruler ship from the supernatural realm to the physical realm.
5) The Creator/YHVHs plan is to do this through a family of spirit children whom he would call his sons.
The Word Study
THE WORD STUDY
Strongs Greek Lexicon 3056. logos log'-os from 3004; something said (including the thought); by implication, a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, (with the article in John) the Divine Expression (i.e. Christ):--account, cause, communication, X concerning, doctrine, fame, X have to do, intent, matter, mouth, preaching, question, reason, + reckon, remove, say(-ing), shew, X speaker, speech, talk, thing, + none of these things move me, tidings, treatise, utterance, word, work.
In ordinary, non-technical Greek, logos had two overlapping meanings.
Logos referred to an instance of speaking: "sentence, saying, oration"; the other meaning was the antithesis of ergon (ἔργον) or energeia (ἐνέργεια), meaning "action" or "work", which was commonplace.
Logos also means the inward intention underlying the speech act: "hypothesis, thought, grounds for belief or action."
(A Greek-English Lexicon, Revised By H.S. Jones And R. Mckenzie Ninth Edition, With Revised Supplement Oxford: Clarendon Press)
This LOGOS holds always but humans always prove unable to understand it, both before hearing it and when they have first heard it. For though all things come to be in accordance with this LOGOS, humans are like the inexperienced when they experience such words and deeds as I set out, distinguishing each in accordance with its nature and saying how it is. But other people fail to notice what they do when awake, just as they forget what they do while asleep. (Diels-Kranz 22B1)
For this reason it is necessary to follow what is common. But although the LOGOS is common, most people live as if they had their own private understanding. (Diels-Kranz 22B2)
Listening not to me but to the LOGOS it is wise to agree that all things are one. (Diels-Kranz 22B50)
*See Stoics
The Stoics
In Stoic philosophy, which began with Zeno of Citium c. 300 BCE, the logos was/is the active reason pervading the universe and animating it. It was conceived of as material, and is usually identified with God or Nature. The Stoics also referred to the seminal logos, ("logos spermatikos") or the law of generation in the universe, which was the principle of the active reason working in inanimate matter. Humans, too, each possess a portion of the divine logos.
Philo of Alexandria
Philo (20 BC - 50 AD), a Hellenized Jew, used the term logos to mean the creative principle. Philo followed the Platonic distinction between imperfect matter and perfect idea. The logos was/is necessary, he taught, because God cannot come into contact with matter. He sometimes identified logos as divine wisdom. He taught that the Logos was the image of God, after which the human mind was made. He calls the Logos the "archangel of many names," "taxiarch" (corps-commander), the "name of God," also the "heavenly Adam", the "man, the word of the eternal God." The Logos is also designated as "high priest," in reference to the exalted position which the high priest occupied after the Exile as the real center of the Jewish state. The Logos, like the high priest, is the expiator of sins, and the mediator and advocate for men: “The Logos is the first-born and the eldest and chief of the angels.”
*See John’s gospel.
John 1:1
Main article: John 1:1
The author of John adapted Philo's concept of the Logos, identifying Jesus as an incarnation of the divine Logos that formed the universe. (Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "John" p. 302-310) (cf. Proverbs 8:22-36) The Gospel of John begins with a Hymn to the Word, which identifies Jesus as the Logos and the Logos as divine. The first verse has been translated as declaring the Logos to be God. Various contemporary (Mormon & Jehovah’s Witness') translations make the Logos out to be "a god" or divine. John's placement of the Word at creation reflects Genesis, in which God (Elohim) speaks the world into being, beginning with words "Let there be light."
John sees “the Light” as The Wisdom/understanding (Sophia) (Sophia- Greek, means Wisdom and understanding). It is interesting to note that understanding and then the gift of wisdom is what God gave King Solomon to judge the people. 1 Kings 3:5-15 This judgment gave King Solomon his wealth and success.
Sophia in Hebrew texts:
Further information: Chokhmah
Sophia is adopted as the term in the Septuagint for Hebrew חכמות Ḥokmot. In Judaism, Chokhmah appears alongside the Shekhinah, 'the Glory of God', a figure who plays a key role in the cosmology of the Kabbalists as an expression of the feminine aspect of God. It is a central topic in the "sapiential" books (i.e., the Book of Wisdom, Sirach (both in the Deuterocanon), Proverbs, Psalms, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes. A key passage which personifies Wisdom/Sophia in the Hebrew Bible is Proverbs 8:22-31.
Chokhmah also sometimes transliterated chochma or hokhmah (חכמה) is the Hebrew word for "wisdom"
Shekhinah (alternative transliterations Shekinah, Shechinah, Shekina, Shechina, Schechinah, שכינה) is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew language word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling presence of God (cf. divine presence), especially in the Temple in Jerusalem.
Philo and the Logos
Further information: Logos
Philo, a Hellenized Jew writing in Alexandria, attempted to harmonize Platonic philosophy and Jewish scripture. Also influenced by Stoic philosophical concepts, he used the term Logos for the role and function of Wisdom, a concept later adapted by the author of the Gospel of John in the opening verses and applied to Jesus Christ as the eternal Word (Logos) of God the Father.
In Christian theology, "wisdom" (Hebrew: Chokhmah, Greek: Sophia, Latin: Sapientia) describes an aspect of God, or the theological concept regarding the wisdom of God.
In the New Testament
Paul refers to the concept, notably in 1 Corinthians, but obscurely, deconstructing worldly wisdom: "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?"
Paul sets worldly wisdom against a higher wisdom of God:
(1 Corinthians 2:7)
"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory."
The Epistle of James (James 3:13-18; cf. James 1:5) distinguishes between two kinds of wisdom. One is a false wisdom, which is characterized as "earthly, sensual, devilish" and is associated with strife and contention. The other is the 'wisdom that comes from above':
(James 3:17)
"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy."
Solomon’s Wisdom
Solomon was the son of David, title given to the Logos made flesh. Also worth noting is that the name Solomon – Hebrew, means prince of peace (wholeness), another title given to Jesus Christ the Logos of God.
Solomon became king at the age of 12. God then appeared to him in a nighttime dream.
1 Kings 3:5-15 (King James Version)
5In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 6And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. 8And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. 9Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 10And the speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing. 11And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 12Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 13And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. 14And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. 15And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
King Solomon "excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom" according to the Bible. The son of King David and Bathsheba, Solomon (in Hebrew, Shlomo) ruled Israel from about 960 to 922 B.C. and built a magnificent temple in Jerusalem which housed the Ark of the Covenant. Solomon reportedly had hundreds of wives and concubines, including the daughter of the pharaoh of Egypt. He also had a famous meeting with the Queen of Sheba who, after observing his wealth and wisdom, showered him with gifts. Solomon is historically credited with authoring the Bible's Song of Songs and book of Ecclesiastes, though many scholars believe the latter was written after his death.
Solomon's wisdom is usually recalled in a famous incident in which two women came before him with a baby, each claiming to be the mother. Solomon ordered the child be cut in half, and by observing each woman's reaction determined the true mother.
The Logos in Proverbs 8:22-36 (Young's Literal Translation)
This is the logos known in Christian Doctrine as the Christ or the Anointing of the Spirit of Wisdom. And believed to be one of The Gospel of Johns’ sources of doctrine.
22Jehovah possessed me -- the beginning of His way, Before His works since then.
23From the age I was anointed, from the first, From former states of the earth.
24In there being no depths, I was brought forth, In there being no fountains heavy [with] waters,
25Before mountains were sunk, Before heights, I was brought forth.
26While He had not made the earth, and out-places, And the top of the dusts of the world.
27In His preparing the heavens I [am] there, In His decreeing a circle on the face of the deep,
28In His strengthening clouds above, In His making strong fountains of the deep,
29In His setting for the sea its limit, And the waters transgress not His command, In His decreeing the foundations of earth,
30Then I am near Him, a workman, And I am a delight -- day by day. Rejoicing before Him at all times,
31Rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth, And my delights [are] with the sons of men.
32And now, ye sons, hearken to me, Yea, happy are they who keep my ways.
33Hear instruction, and be wise, and slight not.
34O the happiness of the man hearkening to me, To watch at my doors day by day, To watch at the door-posts of my entrance.
35For whoso is finding me, hath found life, And bringeth out good-will from Jehovah.
36And whoso is missing me, is wronging his soul, All hating me have loved death!
The Creative Principle
Demiurge in philosophical and religious language is a term for a creator deity, responsible for the creation of the Universe. In the sense of a divine creative principle as expressed in ergon or en-erg-y, the word was first introduced by Plato in Timaeus, 41a (ca. 360 BC).
In physics, energy (from the Greek ἐνέργεια - energeia, "activity, operation", from ἐνεργός - energos, "active, working") (Harper, Douglas. "Energy". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved May 1 2007.) is a scalar physical quantity that describes the amount of work that can be performed by a force, an attribute of objects and systems that is subject to a conservation law. Different forms of energy include kinetic, potential, thermal, gravitational, sound, light, elastic, and electromagnetic energy. The forms of energy are often named after a related force. Any form of energy can be transformed into another form, but the total energy always remains the same.
The Absolute
The Absolute is the concept of an unconditional reality which transcends limited, conditional, everyday existence. It is often used as an alternate term for a "God" or "the Divine", especially, but by no means exclusively, by those who feel that the term "God" lends itself too easily to anthropomorphic presumptions. The concept of The Absolute possess discrete will, intelligence, awareness or even a personal nature. It is sometimes conceived of as the source through which all being emanates i.e., The Image/Will/Plan of God the Christ. It contrasts with finite things, considered individually, and known collectively as the relative.
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. In religion and mythology, anthropomorphism refers to the perception of a divine being or beings in human form, or the recognition of human qualities in these beings.
The Relative Truth
The term often refers to “truth relativism”, which is the doctrine that there are no absolute truths, i.e., that truth is always relative to some particular frame of reference, such as a language or a culture. The concept of Judgments based on good or evil is an example of relative truth. Good and evil are terms requiring experience by the user. In the bible Judgments based on experience of the senses is considers to spiritual death. Relativism is a temporal way of judgment, in contrast the logos “is the absolute truth”. John 17:17 (King James Version) 17Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word (logos) is truth. –Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Understanding God's Plan Blog Entry dated 7/8/2009 1:27 PM
In the beginning was the plan, and the plan was with God, and the plan was God.
The same plan who is God was with God in the beginning.
All things were made by this plan who is God; nothing was made without God's plan.
Living in the plan is life, and that life is understanding God and the plan who is God.
The understanding of God's plan shines into man who is ignorant of God's plan, but because man is ignorant he doesn't grasp the nature, and the significance of the plan.
Are you that man who is ignorant of the plan?
Or do you know the plan but like your plan better?
Where are you Adam (mankind, man)? (Genesis 3:9)
Are you naked (cunningly ignorant) of the plan of God who is the Word of God?
Who is it that told you the plan that you are living?
Was it God?
Who told you that you are naked?
Who?
I tell you the truth whoever it was, he was and is a lie!
God only judges according to The Word who is God, and is The Plan of God.
Jesus said "thy word is truth." (The Word is the Verity and the Reality)
What reality are you living in?
The Word of God is the planned reality for Adam (mankind, man).
God's judgment by The Word is the Tree of Life (eternal life). God's judgment is life to man. God's judgment is The Truth (His plan who is The Word, and is God)
The Scripture is not the Word. It is the witness to The Word (The Plan).
John 5:37-40
And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. You have neither heard His voice (Genesis Chapter 1) at any time, you haven't seen His shape. And you have not His Word (The Plan) abiding in you: for whom He sent, you don't believe. Search the Scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.(The Word And the Plan). And you will not come to me, that you might have life.
God's judgment is a tree of life. Man's judgment is the tree that judges between good and evil. The trees in the garden represent the place where man (Adam) gets his source of life. When man gets his life from something that isn't the plan he becomes naked (cunningly ignorant, by his carnal judgement).
But who told him he was naked?
He told himself when he judged himself independent of God's judgment.
John 1:9-13
The Plan was and is the real understanding, the understanding that God intends every man to receive that comes into the world. The Plan was in the world, and the world was made by The Plan, and the world did not know The Plan. He came to those whom he made from the plan and they knew Him not. He came unto what was and is and forever will be His, and He wasn't received by what he created. But to those who did receive Him, to them He gave the fruit of The Plan, a lifestyle of the God kind. He gave it to those who believed they were one with The Plan. These are they that do not judge by flesh and blood, or by the senses, nor by their own understanding, but by the understanding that God has about His Plan.
And the Plan was made flesh and blood, and The Plan was made plain for us to see in Jesus Christ. And we beheld the finishing of God's plan, the pinnacle of God's plan, and the full weight of its manifestation. This was the only Plan that God ever had for Adam (mankind). This Plan was full of unmerited favor, unearned righteousness, and absolute truth (The Word) Surety, Verity, and Reality). For it is God himself who did the work of The Plan.
Of this Plan's fullness we have all received. We have received it by his work through his work not our own works or judgments. The law (The Condmenation) came by a man under condemnation and sin,but unmerited favor and the surety and Verity of the plan came by Jesus Christ. The only Plan of God.
And now to as many as received The Plan of God and think from The Plan of God. To them is given the lifestyle of God. To take dominion over all the physical creation of God. Man is now and in truth always has been God's image. For this is how God created him male and female one man, in God's image.
Regardless of your judgment this is who you are today through the work of Jesus Christ alone.
Amen!!!!