OUR FATHER'S MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION Pt. 2

For I hear laughter, and great rejoicing

from Zion's mountain, glad tidings telling

The Lord of glory in sons appearing

Rejoice creation, your King of love is here.

We are in union with Christ in Spirit and are seated with Him in the heavens. Eph. 2:6 Though our feet are yet walking on earth, as we engage in our daily occupations. Being "joined to the Lord" in one spirit bespeaks your real being is spirit, is reality. 1 Cor. 6:17.

Paul tells us that Christ is the supreme sovereign above all dominion, might and power, and every name that is named in this world, and the world to come. Eph. 1:20-23. All things have been put under His feet. He is Head over all-to the church which is His body the fullness of Him that fills all in all.

Beloved, the power, authority and dominion that is Jesus Christ's, He has relegated to His body. The Father has placed the controlling factor of human affairs into the hands of "His body the fullness of Him who fills all in all." Father has already legally enthroned us with Christ in the heavens. Eph. 2:5, 6. We have been given divine relationship and union with the Lord, and He lives His life in us. By the Spirit we have already entered our reign with Christ Jesus. Rev. 1:6, 5:10, 20: 4.

Jesus said, "Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Luke 10:19.

Here the Lord invested in His body equal authority with Him over all antagonistic forces. From the dawn of the ages the Father has been focused on one supreme event, His one Magnificent Obsession, and it is two fold. The putting of all things (empirically) under the feet of Christ's multiple membered body, and all mankind into the consciousness of their salvation being freely awarded them in Christ. "But now we see not yet all things put under him" (His body). Heb. 2:8. "The last enemy to be destroyed is death." 1 Cor. 15: 26. Compare verses 27, 28.

Augustine designed the picture of God as an "eternal tormentor," and it has been hung on the walls of Christendom's mind for 17 centuries. he was not the first to teach that Pagan philosophy, but he laid the cement into all the cracks, making it a fixed doctrine.

I have observed believers who have not heard the melody of Christ's gospel of free grace. They broke Bible rules and felt they missed the Lord. Then others who followed the rules and missed Him. After hearing the strains of Christ's free

sweet mellifluent Grace, was "delivered, and found written in the book, that were asleep in the dust of the earth ( they) came awake, to everlasting life..." Compare Daniel 12: 1, 2. Grace means, I can't do anything to make God love me more. There are no strings to it, it is on the house!

Men will never earn Father's acceptance by keeping mountains of rules, one can only receive it as a gift. It comes with the Giver of the gifts. "He that has been baptized into Christ has put on Christ." Father's essence fills all of our emptiness! An intimate personal relationship with Him fills all rules, laws and performance criteria.

Once I was in a wilderness of denominational confusion where God would burn us for a bad word, or lustful thought. But the glad day came when I discovered my Father is a happy God with no condemnation in His love, mercy and grace. As my friend Stacy Wood declares. No guilt is imputed to our charge, His grace demonstrably shown for ALL at the cross. There He redeemed us and justified us from the fall. 2 Cor. 5: 19. "All paths of the Lord are mercy and truth." Ps.25: 10.

An awesome but beautiful theme runs from Genesis to Revelation (sometimes beneath the letter of the word) of revelation of the reconciliation of ALL man kind to God. In this revelation of Father's purposes and intents, He never planned to relegate any part of His family to eternal torment. Our Father the Creator knew in Himself that His plan to "Deliver all creation from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God" would never need to be second guessed, or revised. Rom. 8: 21. For He knew the end from the beginning. Isaiah 45: 9, 10.

Our all knowing Father had the cure before the bruise, "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Rev. 13:8. Faulty versions of scripture have created the false doctrine of hell from the Hebrew and Greek words, Hades, Sheol and Gehenna. Hades and Sheol are "imperceptible places," and Gehenna is the refuse dump outside Jerusalem. The "lake of fire," ( pur ) is the "second death," ending all death. Tartarus is written concerning messengers.

It is astounding that so many teachings not found in the early scriptures are now held as infallible truth! It is time for those believing in classic Christianity kick of the yoke of tradition! We are assured that the Father will gather into One all in Christ, as His grace comes on all mankind into justification of life. Rom. 5: 18, Eph. 1: 10. Therefore Jesus knowing that the Father had placed all things in heaven and in earth into His hands, made the decree by His cross to draw all men unto Himself. John 12: 32, 33, 13:3. Thus having received all things from the Father, all that was given to Him will come to Him, and by Father's sovereign power He will lose none! And should any stray away, he the "Good Shepherd goes after that which is lost till He finds it and returns it to the fold." Jn. 3:35, 6:37-39, Luke 15: 4.

Until Martin Luther the bible was read only by the priest's of the Catholic church. Which church was the only source of spiritual instruction. The doctrine of eternal torment had been the established dogma of the mother church for several centuries. And few there were who dared to stand up and disagree. And when the Protestant church was established, the dogma remained the same for the same reasons, for the Protestant leaders were as adamant as were the Catholic clergy. All who decried it were excommunicated about as quickly as the heretics were thrown out by the Catholic church. Thousands were killed s Foxes Book of Martyrs, the history of such bigotry relates.

The fable of hell and endless doom is the intrusion of Paganism. As close as can be traced, it raised its ugly head in the decade of 120 to 130 AD. All believers should be told that scripture does not teach endless torment! Rather all mankind shall eventually hear and receive Father's generosity of Grace in Christ, to all earths inhabitants.

"None of us (human beings) lives to himself, and no man dies to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end, Christ both died and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead, and living." Rom. 14: 7-9.

That brings us to 1 Pet. 3: 3:19, 20, 4:6 where Jesus went and preached to spirits in prison:

"By the which he went and preached to spirits in prison; which were at one time disobedient, when the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

For this cause was the gospel preached also to those that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the Spirit."

As our pattern and example, Jesus our High Priest has entered into the heavens and "ever makes intercession for us." Thus we can understand the true meaning of being joined to Him in His priesthood. As the multiple membered body of Christ we have the responsibility of intercession in Spirit for all, even the lawless-or whatever their faith, or none whatever. For our all encompassing, all embracing, all in gracing Father and Son are right in the middle of it.

The gospel of Christ is so designed to give us understanding that the Father, son and "spirits of just men made perfect," and all the saints of all ages past dwells among us as a "holy nation" right now. We are the "Israel of God" Gal. 6: 16 present tense. We being mount Zion and New Jerusalem are the language of Father's New Covenant.

Continued,

Love and hugs,

Scott