Grieving the Holy Spirit

Hi Barry

Just heard a sermon preached on Grieving the Holy Spirit, and I want to start some discussion with you and your blog community about the following questions if I may. I am guessing the the below questions cover much scope - but here goes anyhow.

1. What exactly is the "Unforgivable Sin"?
2. Is the Holy Spirit grieved by those who are unsaved (when they sin) in the same way that He is grieved by us who call ourselves Christians (when we sin)?
3. And if 2 is yes then can we say the Holy Spirit indwells in as ALL, and salvation (or the sinner prayer) is an acknowledgement of his indwelling.

It is my hunch that 3 is true and has been true since Christ resurrection.

4. and finally, it is also my hunch that this "grieving" is the thing that Jesus most dreaded on the mount of olives when He asked His Father to take His cup if possible. The torture and crucifixion was horrendous, but spiritually living within 9 billion sinning people until they are pure sounds even worse for HIM.

what do you think?
Glenn

Timetable for the Book

Hi Guys and Gals
Since my aborted church-sitting exercise I have spent many hours in Bible study and seeking guidance for the future.  As a result, I have made some adjustments to my plans and, as I reported in a recent post, I will become more focused on getting "the book" done in a much shorter time-frame.

Indeed I have now decided to write three books.
The Really Good News, Book 1, God Plans to Save the World.  This describes how and when God will restore everything and have all His creation move into eternity with Him.
The Really Good News, Book 2, Government Secrets Revealed.  This describes the Bible and how to read it so that God's purpose and plans can be correctly understood.
The Really Good News, Book 3, Government Positions Available.  This describes the qualifications and job description of those who will govern with Christ in the kingdom age.

Book 1 has almost two chapters written since my journey north.  I have become very determined to get this done.

The website I was planning will be developed in a different way and in a different order than first thought.  I am writing the books in an informal style for the average reader, with little theology included.  A 'Notes and References' section at the back of each book will include links to web-pages on the website which will develop the ideas in the books more formally/theologically, explain contentious points, explain opposing views and their deficiencies, etc. for those who want to study at a deeper level.

I am setting target dates for one book (and its corresponding web-pages) to be completed per year  On this basis, the trilogy should be completed during 2012.

To lighten up the books for general readership, I want to include cartoons throughout and have plenty of white space on each page.  I feel I have "seen" the final result.

As always any feedback is most welcome.  Barry

Everything must work towards God's Purpose

Many verses that people declare as being incompatible with the G.R.A.C.E. view are really compatible with and supportive of that view, as long as people keep God's overall purpose for the world in mind.

Not keeping that purpose in mind leaves one thinking that each verse on its own serves its own purpose or tells its own story, and this process usually leads to a cocktail of contradictory purposes, plans and outcomes, rather than a more detailed view of God's ultimate purpose for the ages.

So what is God's purpose for the ages?
To head up the universe under His Son, Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1 : 10).
To reconcile the universe to Himself, through Christ, making peace through the blood of Christ’s cross (Colossians 1 : 20).
To become "All in all" at the end of the ages (1 Corinthians 15 : 22 - 28).

For any verse that we study, or that is thrown up to challenge us, we should always ask the question, "How might this fit into God's purpose?" or "What extra detail or understanding of God's purpose is this verse providing us?" before being satisfied that we have its correct or full meaning.

Barry

What is Judgement?

One verse that is often thrown up to show me that God will not achieve his purpose of eventually restoring all to himself is Hebrews 9 : 27 which states that people are to die once, and after that to face judgement.  In these people's minds judgement obviously equates to eternal torment in hell or total destruction.

Judgement is only a process - a process for deciding between right and wrong or between guilt and innocence - which then determines what the next course of action will be. 

Some judgements are to free or acquit an innocent person, others are to penalise a guilty person in some way.  In the latter case, the penalty is administered for the purpose of improving the guilty person's behaviour or character so that he/she will eventually be different and as free as the person who was acquitted.

So whatever the result, judgement is a good thing, not a bad thing, as all results of judgement eventually bring freedom.

Believers, who live in the Spirit, are judged daily by the Spirit.  We are judged, convicted of our sin and restored to fellowship with God due to the on-going sanctifying work of the Spirit in our lives.  This results in us becoming Christ-like and being made ready to rule with Him in the kingdom age.

Non-believers are judged at the Great White Throne and are purified by the lake of fire.  This also results in God-likeness, but they completely miss out on ruling with Christ in the kingdom, as it is only the believers, the first-born, who have the double portion - reigning with Christ in the kingdom age and residency in the New Jerusalem.

Let's be careful we don't allow people to confuse the process (judgement) with the result of the process as a reason for not considering the eventual good outcome of every one of God's judgements.

Barry

How do we come to see truth?

After the pastor of the church I was supposed to look after returned, we had a very nice conversation over the events that had taken place in his absence.  He is a lovely man with a lovely heart for God who now has the task of "restoring order" in the church.

In our two hour conversation we touched on many things, including my "offending" view that all would eventually be restored to the Father.  Our discussion has prompted some topics for a few more posts on the blog.

Here's the first.
Although people might readily agree that God's purpose for the world is "to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ"  [Eph 1 : 10], it is not always easy for them to get to the next step and agree that this means that all of humankind must be reconciled to the Father for that unity to be possible.

They cannot see that unity cannot be achieved if God is enjoying the sweet fellowship of some whilst overseeing the eternal torment of others at the same time.

What is the mental block here? 
Or is it nothing to do with logic, but everything to do with revelation?

We only become believers as a result of God giving us faith, so maybe the only way we see God's truth on this issue (or on any issue) is when God opens our eyes to it.

What do you think?
What's the relationship between logic and revelation?
Or is there no relationship at all?

Barry

The kingdom as yeast

It's amazing to discover that when we keep God's ultimate purpose for the world in mind, we begin to see so many bits of Scripture that are aligned with that purpose.

Take the little one verse parable in Matthew 13 : 33.  He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."  [ESV]

If you've done any bread-making you would have seen for yourself how the small amount of yeast you add to the mixture eventually spreads through the whole batch of flour. 

And Jesus says that this is a picture of the kingdom of heaven. 

What other purpose could he have possibly had in mind for telling this one-sentence parable?  None that I can see.

He was telling us that the kingdom eventually spreads through the whole world, through everything, and God will be all in all in the end, just as he purposed. [see 1 Cor 15 : 28]

Let me rattle on.  I have no basis for this next bit other than an imaginative mind.
Why 3 measures of flour, and not another number??

There are three "occasions" for the kingdom (the rulership of God) to be seen.
1.  Jesus' life, ministry and resurrection on the earth.
2.  Us, the firstfruits of the crop, ruling and reigning with Christ in the kingdom age after the first resurrection.
3.  The main harvest, the vast multitudes at the Great White Throne who are to be judged and cleaned up after the second resurrection being made ready to step into eternity.

The kingdom (leaven) will have eventually worked its way through the whole lot of us by the end of the ages.

Isn't that really good news from a little one-liner?  Barry

The Importance of Knowing God

As you probably know by now, my favourite parable is the one of the two lost sons in Luke 15.

I often spend time just thinking about the main characters in the story and this morning I was thinking about the elder brother, especially in regard to the elders in the church where I was church-sitting for a couple of days.

And in my devotions this morning, the author of the daily thought said, "Without a true and proper knowledge of God, we are doomed to failure and condemnation, being sentenced to the bondage of the traditions and doctrines of men."

So the following thoughts began rolling out .....

The elder brother didn't really know the father at all, even though he had been living with him and working for him for years and years. He was surprised and offended that the father would even take the younger son back at all (give him a second chance) let alone celebrate his return in such an extravagant fashion.

The elders at the church were also offended to hear that this might be the case - people who had ignored or offended God might be eventually received into God's eternal family.  They were so offended that they didn't want their congregation to hear such stuff and so banned me from talking further to them, even though I quoted Jesus, Peter, Paul and John to verify what I was saying.

Without knowing God and his ultimate purpose and plans for his offspring we are indeed "sentenced to the bondage of the traditions and doctrines of men".

I am not saying the elders don't know God .... but they certainly don't know his ultimate purpose, the purpose that his unconditional love, his sovereign power and his extravagant grace will achieve.

The only definition of eternal life (life in the ages) I can find in the Bible is what John records as the words of Jesus in John 17 : 3 - "eternal life (Gk. life in the ages) means to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent."  [GNB]

Knowing God and Jesus is therefore essential if we wish to have life in the ages, to live and reign with Christ in the 1000 years kingdom age. 

Jesus said that just knowing his name and working for him (an elder brother activity) is not enough.   We need to know him, to be known by him and to be doing what GOD wants us to be doing.  (Matthew 7 : 21 - 23)
 
As my daily devotion author concluded ...THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD IS WORTH MORE THAN ALL THE EARTHLY RICHES THAT ONE COULD ACQUIRE!

Let us determine to know God and Jesus Christ, doing whatever it takes to achieve this, that we might live!  Barry