Division Of Soul And Spirit

The Division Of Soul And Spirit

Hebrews 4:12

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb 4:12).

Notice that there is a division between the soul (psyche) and the spirit. The soul is the conscious part of the mind, and the spirit is the subconscious part. The word of God is a discerner of the thoughts (the understanding) and the intents (motives) of the spirit. God’s word discerns between the thoughts of the conscious mind (the soul) and the intents of the subconscious spirit.

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Dreams Come To The Spirit In Symbols

 When Joseph dreamed, God did not tell him in literal terms that his family would bow to him. He had to interpret with the understanding of the soul what the symbols of the spirit meant. “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). God communicates firstly with man’s spirit, and then requires us to worship in understanding truth with the help of the Holy Spirit. We must worship first in spirit and secondly in truth (understanding).

Not all dreams come from God. Most dreams come from our own fears and concerns.

Have you ever wondered why Hebrews 4:12 says the word of God divides joints and marrow? When the priest worshipped, he would cut up the animal.

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Worship Has To Do With Sacrifice

 It involves a “piercing of joints and marrow” with a sharp two-edged sword. Even devoting the Canaanites to destruction was worship. They were devoting them to God. The same is true when we praise God in worship. “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, 7 To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples; 8 To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 To execute on them the written judgment-- This honor have all His saints. Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 149:6-9)

God commands us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. God’s word cuts us in pieces, piercing even to the division of joints and marrow.

When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, we see a good example of the division of soul and spirit.

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God Spoke To Pharaoh’s Spirit

Joseph said, “God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do” (Gen41:28). God had shown it to Pharaoh’s spirit, but not to his understanding (his soul). Because Joseph had the gift of interpreting dreams, he was able to bridge the gap from the spirit to the soul, from the subconscious part of the heart to the understanding, from the intentions of the heart to the understanding of the thoughts. He was able to pierce even to the division of soul and spirit and to discern the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. Interpretations Belong To God.

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Note The Difference Between Spirit And Soul

Paul said, “I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding” (1Co 14:15). “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful” (1Cor 14:14). Paul identifies the understanding with the soul. The Greek word for soul is psyche. Pscyhe means being. It has to do with conscious understanding of the natural world.

By the way, you can pray in the spirit without the gift of tongues. You can pray with groans that cannot be uttered. “the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26.)                                           

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The Greek Word For “Soulish” Is Translated “Natural”

…in 1 Cor 2:14. “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Notice the contrast between what is soulishly discerned and what is spiritually discerned.

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God Says False Teachers Are Soulish

Jude said they are “sensual persons… not having the Spirit” (Jude 19). The Greek word that is translated sensual comes from the word soul, psychicos. It means soulish. They get their doctrine from either from being purely cerebral of from being too emotional. Both extremes are soulish. We will not understand God’s word until we can discern the difference. Pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ.

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How Can We Know If We Are Soulish?

“But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic” (James 3:14). For example, when a man gets bitter and angry in defending his interpretation of the Bible, “This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, soulish, demonic.” One time Frank and I dealt with a young man that started screaming and stormed out mad when we suggested a different interpretation. His reaction was definitely earthly, soulish, and demonic.

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Prophets And Teachers

God spoke to the prophets in visions, dreams, and symbols. “I have also spoken by the prophets, And have multiplied visions; I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets” (Hosea 12:10). The prophets did not always understand their visions. The job of the teacher is to interpret the visions of the prophets. But they need to have the wisdom that descends from above.

“Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers” (Acts 13:1).

Moses was a teacher. God said, “If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. 7 Not so with My servant Moses... 8 I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark sayings” (Num 12:6-8). Visions and dreams are dark sayings. Moses was a teacher, but he needed the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in order to teach from his spirit. He needed “understanding in the visions of God” like it says of Zechariah (2Chron 26:5).

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Should We Pray For A Spirit Of Wisdom And Revelation?

Ephesians 1:16-18

         Some say the days for that ceased when the New Testament was completed.

Paul said, I do not cease… making mention of you in my prayers: 17* that … the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.

         If we think that way, we are soulish. On the other hand, the one that’s always saying, “God told me this and God told me that” is probably also soulish. Read my blog on “The errors of the Charismatic movement.”

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Soulish Men Like Soulish Teaching

… because it’s down on their level. It’s earthly. It’s simple. But they think it is spiritual just to know memorize the Bible and know the stories.

False teaching is soulish. For example soulish teaching says, “Everything in the vision of Revelation is literal.” Soulish teaching also says the opposite. It says, “The historical parts are only symbolic and not literal.”

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Why Is This Teaching On Soul And Spirit Important?

         It’s important in counseling people and winning souls. It is possible for a person to have truth in his spirit, but not yet in his understanding. We need to discern this and be patient with him. Don’t force him or expect him to understand everything yet.

         How can we discern if he does not have it in his heart yet? We can certainly tell if he has bitter envy and calls people names when they disagree with him. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, soulish, and devilish.

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Are You Ready To Get Cut In Pieces?

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb 4:12).

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2* And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Sign Of His Coming

When Jesus said, “Take, eat; this is My body,” was the bread His body or the symbol of it? 

When He said, “I am the door,” was He a door or was the door a symbol?

When Revelation one says the seven candlesticks are the seven churches, were they the seven churches or symbols of them?

When Jesus destroyed Jerusalem, was it His coming or the symbol (i.e. sign) of it?

When Jesus said Jerusalem would be destroyed in that generation and not one stone of the Temple would be left standing, did the disciples ask when He was coming or what would be the sign of His coming?

“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Mat. 24:3)

When did “these things” happen? Jesus answered: “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place” (Mat 24:34). They happened 40 years after Jesus prophesied it.

Was that the end of the Old Testament age? Obviously, it was. No more sacrifices and ceremonial laws.

Was the destruction of the Temple His coming or the sign (symbol) of His coming? It was the sign that He had already come to the Ancient of days when He ascended with the clouds and came in His glory, and sat on the throne of His glory (Mat 25:31). Was the bread His body or the symbol of it?

When Jesus said He was coming soon, did He mean His coming was the literal second coming or the symbol of the second coming?

When Isaiah said, “Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt” (Isa 19:1), and the commentaries report that He came with the Assyrian invasion (Isa 20), was He speaking literally or symbolically?

When David described his deliverance from Saul and his other enemies by saying, “He bowed the heavens also, and came down,” was he speaking literally or symbolically?

The two following verses are prayers for the Lord’s coming in revival.

“He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth” (Ps 72:6).

“Bow down Your heavens, O LORD, and come down” (Ps 144:5).

The kingdom of God came when Jesus ascended to the Ancient of Days. The disciples knew nothing of a second coming. They did not even know He would die and be resurrected. The first time they ever learned of a second coming was after He ascended in Acts 1.

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The Difference Between Moses, Prophets, Apostles

Eph 2:20

“The household of God having been built on the foundation of the apostles [NT] and prophets [O.T.], Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone”

A few weeks ago I awoke at 2 A.M. with this question:

1.) What is the difference between Moses and the prophets?

2.) What is the Difference Between Moses And The Apostles, and

3.) What is the Difference Between The Prophets And The Apostles.

While I lay there meditating, the Lord showed me where to find the differences between them in the Bible.

Pastor Ron Smith

The Bible says God’s church is also…

The Pillar And Ground Of The Truth

1Tim 3:15

The Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles are the foundation of the church and the church is the pillar that supports the superstructure. Christ is the chief cornerstone… not the Pope.

What Is The Function Of A Cornerstone?

The cornerstone lines up the foundation so the house is not crooked. This means that the Old and New Testaments must be interpreted in the light of Christ in order to be foursquare. Square means “honest.”

The Foundation Is Crucial

A house built on sand will not stand. It must go down deep or the foundation will move. We dare not be shallow.

The foundation of God’s house begins with the lawgiver, Moses.

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:27).

People like Jesus, but they don’t like Moses. But Jesus said, “If you liked Moses, you would like Me” ((John 5:46). People who don’t like Moses, do not really like Jesus. They like their own made-up Jesus. Therefore, they have no depth, no foundation.

To get into God’s kingdom, we must enter by …

The Gates Of The New Jerusalem

Those gates have the names of the 12 tribes of Israel written on them. The very entrance to God’s church is through Old Testament Israel. The Jew first, and also the Greek (Rom 2:10).

If we want to understand God’s revelation…

We Need To Understand The Differences In The Foundation Stones

1.)         The Difference Between Moses And The Prophets,

2.)         The Difference Between Moses And The Apostles,  

3.)         The Difference Between The Prophets And The Apostles.

We can’t just build with Moses alone like the Sadducees did. Nor can we build with just the prophets and end with John the Baptist. Nor can we start all over again and reject the Old Testament.

The Difference Between Moses And The Prophets: God spoke clearly to Moses and in the riddles of dreams and visions to the prophets

 “If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed. (Num 12 ESV)

The Difference Between Moses And The Apostles was that the apostles unveiled the mystery hidden for ages while Moses veiled it.

Since we [apostles] have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. (2 Corinthians 3:12–18 ESV)

The way to find the real Jesus is to unveil Moses. The only difference between the apostles & Jesus is the veil.

The Difference Between The Prophets And The Apostles

Acts 21:3–13

On his way back to Jerusalem, Paul landed at Tire and stayed there for seven days with the disciples.

And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem…. “Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.” 15 And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem.”

God shows the prophets things to come, but they do not always know how to interpret what they see. They saw that Paul would be jailed, but did not understand that what they saw did not mean he should not go there. The apostle understood that. That is the difference between apostles and prophets.

Prophets Do Not Always Understand How To Interpret

What God’s Spirit Reveals

1 Peter 1:10-11 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating …

Conclusion

The difference between Moses and the prophets: Riddles & clearly. The difference between Moses and the apostles: The veil. The difference between the prophets and apostles: The interpretation.

How Old Is The Earth?

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The father of biblical theology, Geerhardus Vos, says that Day #1 in Genesis did not begin until "God said" in verse 3. Before that the heavens and the earth were created, but the earth was "without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." Therefore, the stars and sun were created before the first day. Each day started with "God said." Therefore, we must make a distinction between the age of the universe and the age of God's new earth.

The darkness was caused by a thick vapor. But when God spoke, the vapor diminished enough for light to show. On day 2, enough vapor diminished to make "a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”

On day 3, God's breath diminished enough moisture to “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.”

On day 4, God said, "Let there be two great lights... and God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also." In the beginning God created (Hebrew baw-raw' ). But on the 4th day He "made" (aw-saw). The lights were already there, but now He made them be seen from earth's point of view. Therefore, God did not created the sun, moon, and stars on the 4th day. He created them in the beginning and made them to be seen on the 4th day.

When was the beginning? The beginning of what? None of your business. The secret things belong to God and only what is revealed belongs to us. The age of the universe cannot be known unless God reveals it. First and foremost, in the beginning, there must be a broken spirit and a contrite heart. And only God can create that.

A Short Summary Of Church History

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A Short Summary Of Church History

By Dr. R.D. Smith

Knowing church history can keep lone rangers from being lone rangers and from re-inventing orthodoxy on the anvil of anti-historical provincialism.  There is a theory that the paradigms of history can show where we are now, what we should do now, and that they serve as a gauge for the possibilities of the future.

The Patterns That Show Where America Is Now

After Rome was converted it began to fall because of the invasion by Barbarians.  This brought about the conversion of those same barbarian nations.  Christian America has been/is being invaded by various humanist/pagan interests today.  This will probably result in more furtherance of God’s Kingdom.  Britain was Christian in the 6^th Century, but after Rome retreated it fell to pagan Anglo Saxons and became pagan again.  Then came the Irish missionaries and converted the Anglo Saxons.  Perhaps America will be re-converted by Chinese missionaries like Britain was by the Irish. Moslems have invaded Europe and there are now more mosques than churches there.  Perhaps Europe shall be re-converted by the Chinese just as England was.  Jesus promised, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  The little stone that destroys the nations is becoming a great growing mountain that is destined to fill the whole earth.  The Kingdom of God is the leaven that will leaven the whole lump of planet earth.

China

         An article in Asia Times by Spengler illustrates where church history is headed.[1]

Ten thousand Chinese become Christians each day, according to a stunning report by the National Catholic Reporter's veteran correspondent John Allen, and 200 million Chinese may comprise the world's largest concentration of Christians by mid-century, and the largest missionary force in history.  If you read a single news article about China this year, make sure it is this one.

I suspect that even the most enthusiastic accounts err on the downside, and that Christianity will have become a Sino-centric religion two generations from now. China may be for the 21st century what Europe was during the 8th-11th centuries, and America has been during the past 200 years: the natural ground for mass evangelization. If this occurs, the world will change beyond our capacity to recognize it. Islam might defeat the western Europeans, simply by replacing their diminishing numbers with immigrants, but it will crumble beneath the challenge from the East.

The World Christian Database offers by far the largest estimate of the number of Chinese Christians at 111 million, of whom 90% are Protestant, mostly Pentecostals. Other estimates are considerably lower, but no matter; what counts is the growth rate. This uniquely American denomination, which claims the inspiration to speak in tongues like Jesus' own disciples and to prophesy, is the world's fastest-growing religious movement. In contrast to Catholicism, which has a very long historic presence in China but whose growth has been slow, charismatic Protestantism has found its natural element in an atmosphere of official suppression. Barred from churches, Chinese began worshipping in homes, and five major "house church" movements and countless smaller ones now minister to as many as 100 million Christians. This quasi-underground movement may now exceed in adherents the 75 million members of the Chinese Communist Party; in a generation it will be the most powerful force in the country.

While the Catholic Church has worked patiently for independence from the Chinese government, which sponsors a "Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association" with government-appointed bishops, the evangelicals have no infrastructure to suppress and no hierarchy to protect. In contrast to Catholic caution, John Allen observes, "Most Pentecostals would obviously welcome being arrested less frequently, but in general they are not waiting for legal or political reform before carrying out aggressive evangelization programs."

Allen adds:

The most audacious even dream of carrying the gospel beyond the borders of China, along the old Silk Road into the Muslim world, in a campaign known as "Back to Jerusalem."  As [Time correspondent David] Aikman explains in Jesus in Beijing, some Chinese evangelicals and Pentecostals believe that the basic movement of the gospel for the last 2,000 years has been westward: from Jerusalem to Antioch, from Antioch to Europe, from Europe to America, and from America to China. Now, they believe, it's their turn to complete the loop by carrying the gospel to Muslim lands, eventually arriving in Jerusalem. Once that happens, they believe, the gospel will have been preached to the entire world.

Aikman reports that two Protestant seminaries secretly are training missionaries for deployment in Muslim countries.

World Net Daily Article:

The Earth is becoming Christian at a very fast clip. My best estimate is that there are 64 million more Christians now than a year ago. That breaks down to 175,000 a day. History has never seen such a rapid and vast shift in loyalty and identity. Muslim authorities have admitted they are rapidly losing Africa. Indonesia, Earth's largest Muslim nation, is now 25 percent Christian. In Bangladesh, a stunning 522,000 Muslims have turned to Isa (Jesus) since 1997.

Iran is also experiencing a huge underground revival among their youth. The Mullahs shout and holler while their children are becoming the underground Christians.

VOM reports there are over 500,000 born again believers in underground house-churches in Bangladesh, another of the largest Muslim nations on earth. This growth rate started with less than 50,000 believers five years ago. This is occurring in a nation where apostasy from Islam to Christianity, is punishable by death.

Scripture Promises Of Success (NKJV)

Psalm 22:27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall bow before thee.

Hab 2:14  The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Psalm 72:11  All kings shall fall down before Him: All nations shall serve Him.

Psalm 67:7 All the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

Psalm 62:2  O you who hear prayer, To You all flesh will come.

Psalm 138:4 All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD, When they hear the words of Your mouth.

Dan 7:27 All dominions shall serve and obey Him.

Isaiah 65:20 A child shall die at the ripe old age of a hundred.

The Place Of War In God’s Providence

Although the disciples of Christ are forbidden to take up swords for the kingdom of God, the Lord, nevertheless, has used others in war to bring about His purposes.  “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name” (Exodus 15:3).  God put it in the hearts of the ten kings in Revelation 17:17 to accomplish His purpose by destroying the Great Harlot.  God used the sword of Constantine to bring peace to the Church and said, “By this sign conquer.”  Charlemagne and Alfred the Great, as civil magistrates, did not “bear the sword in vain” by defending their kingdoms from pagan invaders.  They then baptized the vanquished and God used that to bring about their conversions.  This brings up the place in history for Christians governments.

The Pattern Of Christian Governments

When the king of the first Christian nation state, Armenia, was converted as the result of an apostle (i.e. missionary) healing his son, the whole nation was baptized as in a day.  Some will say, “Yes.  But what kind of Christians were they?”  Well, they were most likely just outward Christians, but is that bad?  The good thing about Christian governments setting up Christian laws is that people will be more likely to be born again first because of the freedom to preach the Gospel and secondly because the law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.  It does not take a rocket scientist to see that if porn, sodomy, and evolution, for example, have free reign, it corrupts the youth and tends to harden their hearts from believing in Christ.  Alfred the Great and Charlemagne would not have allowed an education system such as America permits today.  That cannot be bad.  Look at what Holland permits and observe the results.  The only legitimate government is the rule of King Jesus in the public arena.  David served as the model.

Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him (Ps 2:10-12).

It was a government that protected Luther and made the Reformation possible.

So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.  But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth (Rev 12:15-16).

It was a government (the earth) that protected Calvin.  Scotland set up the kingdom of God that even listed the death penalty for adultery.  Is that bad?  If it was, then Moses was not inspired by God and was draconian.  The whole purpose for these models was to show how it shall be and should be now.  Only the fallen nature of man can keep that from happening.

Even though the governments of the Byzantine Empire and the Papacy were not perfect, they were still to some extent the best the world had yet seen.  Revelation is progressive.  We underestimate the Fall of man.  It takes time for truth to be revealed.  The Reformation brought great light and republican government.  But even the early Puritans in New England did not permit freedom of religion.  Today, however, that “freedom” has become libertinism.

It appears that the prophecy of Joachim Fiore (1135 –1202 A.D.) has largely come to pass since the Reformation of 1517.  He said a day was soon coming when there would be no need for hierarchy and papacy.

Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power (1 Cor 15:24 KJV).

Mysticism And Miracles

Abraham Kuyper says three things are necessary in order to change society: the hand, the head, and the mystical. Luther was the hand for action and Calvin was the head for doctrine. We see the mystical in many places such as in the Stewarton Sickness of Stewarton, Scotland around 1630.[2]

Gregory the Great (AD 600) tells his story of Benedict of Nursea (AD 520).  As a young man he went to a cave to seek God. Suddenly one day he remembered an old girl friend and was seized with a strong temptation to leave.  To overcome the temptation, he threw himself into a bramble bush and rolled around.  The temptation left and never returned. A man found out he was there and with a rope lowered bread to him daily from a cliff above the cave.  When that man died, a priest had a vision in which God told him about Benedict needing food.  The priest searched and searched until he found him and then proceeded to supply him.  As time went on, Benedict was asked to head up an established monastery, he told them he did not think they were compatible, but they insisted.  But then they got tired of his discipline and decided to poison him.  After he said the blessing the poisoned cup burst.

He left there and started the monastery at Monte Cassino and initiated the rule of St. Benedict that was followed for the duration of the medieval age.  He had the gift of prophecy and there were many miracles by his hand.

Mystics like St. Patrick, Columba, Benedict, Francis of Assisi, Joan of Arc, and Savonarola played a very important role in church history.  Savonarola prophesied many things he said would happen soon and they did.  This paradigm is largely missing today.  The pattern more prominent today is the heresy of Montanism.  The manner of submission to authority understood by these mystics is what is also missing today.  Those men and women of God would never have dreamed of making merchandise with their gifts or predicting (like the Montanists did) the soon end of the world.  The enlightenment not only did away with the idea of the miraculous among Protestants, but also the discipline of authority is missing.  Even the early Covenanters in Scotland still believed in miracles.  The son-in law of John Knox, John Welch, struck a man dead with the word of prophecy and raised another from the dead by prayer.  Seventeen of the 71 Scots Worthies mentioned in Howie’s SCOTS WORTHIES exercised the gift of prophecy (including John Knox himself).  But that was before the enlightenment.  We are too enlightened to believe those things now.

It is interesting to note the progressive invention of new doctrines during the Medieval age.  The desire of the Papacy to rule over the other churches developed after the sixth century; purgatory after Gregory the Great (AD 600); transubstantiation after AD 800.  Not only is revelation progressive, but backsliding is also.

Backsliding characterizes God’s church all the way back to Moses and before that to Jacob’s sons.  This tells us that we have this treasure in earthen vessels and only Christ qualifies as the True Israel of God.  He shall, nevertheless, build His church until the knowledge of the glory of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.  So we must be reformed and always reforming or corruption sets in.

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[1]            http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/IH07Ad03.html

[2] (https://lexloiz.wordpress.com/tag/stewarton/).

Calvinism And The Future by Kuyper

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CALVINISM

AND THE FUTURE

By Abraham Kuyper

This is from the last chapter in Abrahm Kuyper’s Stone Lectures on Calvinism. He says earlier in this chapter that in order to change a culture three things are needed by the church: hand, head, and heart. Luther was the hand (action), Calvin was the head (theology), and he calls the heart the need for the mystical aspect. The Covenanters of Scotland certainly provided that. (Read my article on “The Prophesies Of John Knox at http://ronsmithmission.blogspot.com/search?q=Knox). He said this in 1898.

On these 2 pages he shows the possibility of Rome’s help in the culture war. Rome has changed since then, and in many respects has joined with the humanism of the French Revolution. But at least many Catholics oppose abortion.

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“May more perhaps be expected from the marvelous energy displayed in the latter half of this [19^th] century by Rome? Let us not too hastily dismiss this question. Though the history of the Reformation has established a fundamental antithesis between Rome and our selves, it would nevertheless be narrow-minded and short-sighted to underestimate the real power which even now is manifest in Rome's warfare against Atheism and Pantheism. Only ignorance of the exhaustive studies of Romish philosophy and of Rome's successful efforts in social life, could account for such a superficial judgment. Calvin in his day already acknowledged that, as against a spirit from the Great Deep, he considered Romish believers his allies. A so-called orthodox Protestant need only mark in his confession and catechism such doctrines of religion and morals as are not subject to controversy between Rome and ourselves, to perceive immediately that what we have in common with Rome concerns precisely those fundamentals of our Christian creed now most fiercely assaulted by the modern spirit.

Undoubtedly on the points of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, of man's nature before and after the Fall, of justification, of the mass, of the invocation of saints and angels, of the worship of images, of purgatory, and many others, we are as unflinchingly opposed to Rome as our fathers were. But does not current literature show that these are not now the points on which the struggle of the age is concentrated ? Are not the lines of battle drawn as follows : Theism over against Pantheism; sin over against imperfection ; the divine Christ of God over against Jesus the mere man ; the cross a sacrifice of reconciliation over against the cross as a symbol of martyrdom ; the Bible as given by inspiration of God over against a purely human product ; the ten commandments as ordained by God over against a mere archeological document ; the ordinances of God absolutely established over against an ever-changing law and morality spun out of man's subjective consciousness? Now, in this conflict Rome is not an antagonist, but stands on our side, inasmuch as she also recognizes and maintains the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, the Cross as an atoning sacrifice, the Scriptures as the Word of God, and the

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Ten Commandments as a divinely-imposed rule of life. Therefore, let me ask if Romish theologians take up the sword to do valiant and skilful battle against the same tendency that we ourselves mean to fight to the death, is it not the part of wisdom to accept the valuable help of their elucidation? Calvin at least was accustomed to appeal to Thomas of Aquino. And I for my part am not ashamed to confess that on many points my views have been clarified through my study of the Romish theologians.

This, however, does not in the least involve that our hope for the future may be placed in Rome's endeavor, and that we, idle ourselves, may await Rome's victory. A rapid survey of the situation will suffice to convince us of the contrary. To begin with your own continent, can South America for a moment stand a comparison with the North? Now in South and Central America the Roman Catholic Church is supreme. It has exclusive control in this territory, Protestantism not even counting as a factor. Here, then, is an immense field in which the social and political power, which Rome can bring to bear upon the regeneration of our race, can freely exert itself, a field, moreover, in which Rome is not a recent arrival, but which she has occupied for almost three centuries. The youthful development of the social organism of these countries has stood under her influence; she has remained in control also of their intellectual and spiritual life since their liberation from Spain and Portugal. Moreover, the population of these States [Latin America] is derived from such European countries as have always been under the undisputed sway of Rome. The test, therefore, is as complete and fair as possible. But in vain do we look in those American Romish States for a life which elevates, develops energy, and exerts a wholesome influence outside. Financially they are weak, comparatively unprogressive in their economic conditions ; in their political life they present the sad spectacle of endless internal strife; and. if one were inclined to form an ideal picture of the future of the world, he might almost do so by imagining the very opposite of what is the actual situation in South America. Nor can it be pleaded in excuse of Rome that this is due to exceptional circumstances, for in the first place this political backwardness is met with not only in Chili, but likewise in Peru, Brazil as well as in the Venezuelan Republic; while, crossing from the New to the Old World, we reach, in spite of ourselves, the same conclusion. In Europe, also, the credit of all Protestant states is high, that of the Southern countries which are Roman Catholic, is at a painful discount.”  - Lectures On Calvinism, by Abraham Kuyper

I hope and pray that a conservative faction in the Roman Church will arise and join us in the war against Humanism and Cultural Marxism. The current pope is no help in this battle. However, we thank God for Catholics like President Trump’s Catholic Vice President. We also welcome common evangelicals and Charismatics. But there is a price to pay. Truth must triumph over popularity. – Ron Smith churchofthekingmcallen.com