Mistaken or Satanic?
\nIs doctrine contrary to the Gospel of grace mistaken or Satanic? Is it
\nmisinformed or the Devil\u2019s deception? Is it not full light, or is it
\ndarkness? Paul spoke of Satan\u2019s ministers as angels of light and
\nministers of righteousness (II Cor. 11:13-15). The Lord spoke of the
\nteaching of Jezebel as the depths of Satan (Rev. 2:24). He spoke of
\nthose in the church at Philadelphia who are \u201cthem of the synagogue of
\nSatan, which say they are Jews, and are not\u201d (Rev. 3:9). Clearly, that
\nwhich is contrary to the Gospel is Satanic. As I think of men and women
\nall over the world, using the name of Christ in their \u201cworship
\nservices\u201d, I feel both sad and angry – sad that they are so deceived;
\nangry at the wickedness of the deception. But not only do I feel sad and
\nangry, I feel determined by the grace of God to preach the Gospel in
\nsuch a way that the Gospel is seen for what it is, and that which is
\ncontrary is seen for what it is, and men will call upon the name of the
\nLord. — Todd Nibert<\/p>\n
The Mystery
\n\u201cEven the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations,
\nbut now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known
\nwhat is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles;
\nwhich is Christ in you, the hope of glory\u201d, Colossians 1:26-27.<\/p>\n
The Mystery. The Mystery. Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages
\nand generations, which is now made manifest to the saints.<\/p>\n
What do you know of this mystery?<\/p>\n
We read of mysteries in several places in the New Testament. Several
\nverses speak of \u2018the mystery\u2019, and a mystery is something which is
\nhidden, something which is hard to be understood, hard to comprehend,
\nsomething wonderful, something glorious, something that must be revealed
\nand made known. A mystery.<\/p>\n
Here in Colossians 1 we read of that mystery which was hid from ages and
\nfrom generations. Despite all the prophets, despite the scriptures,
\ndespite all those wise men who had looked into the scriptures over
\nhundreds and thousands of years, we read nevertheless, that the mystery
\nhad been hid from ages, and from generations.<\/p>\n
Essentially, the world was in darkness. Yes, light had been shone in.
\nYes, God had dealings with man from time to time in sundry places. He
\nhad spoken through the prophets. Yes, He had given the scriptures. But
\ndespite this, who saw? Who understood? Who understood the mystery?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not\u201d,
\nJohn 1:5.<\/p>\n
The world remained in darkness. This mystery was hid. Hid from ages and
\nfrom generations. It was hid.<\/p>\n
Do you know what something is like when it is hid? You can spend a lot
\nof time looking, you can look here and you can look there, but when
\nsomething is hid it is not easily found. It is not easy to find that
\nwhich is hidden. You may never find that which is hidden. You may look
\nall you like and never find it. It is hid.<\/p>\n
A bit like, as we read of in Matthew 13, that treasure which was hid in
\nthe field. Jesus spoke a parable there of the kingdom of God being
\nlikened unto treasure hid in a field. And he who found it rejoiced, and
\nsold all that he had to buy the field to have the treasure. To most that
\ntreasure was hid.<\/p>\n
Likewise, to the majority that treasure, and that mystery, which Paul
\nspeaks of here in Colossians, has been hid \u2013 hid from ages and from
\ngenerations. And yet God did show it unto a few. There were those who,
\nbefore the time at which Paul spake, had seen, in measure. There were
\nthose to whom God revealed something of this mystery spoken of here, but
\nit was revealed but in measure. It was seen in but type and in figure,
\nin shadows, in prophecies. There were those who did see, but they saw
\nbut faintly. There were those to whom God gave faith, and with that
\nfaith they looked ahead, they looked to the promises, they looked to the
\ncoming and the fulfillment of those promises. They looked for the coming
\nof the Messiah who was promised to them. But their understanding of who
\nHe was and what He do was but in measure. And they died in faith, not
\nhaving received the promises, but embracing them, as Hebrews 11 tell us.<\/p>\n
There were promises that were yet to be fulfilled. But until the
\nfulfillment the mystery was hid, and was never fully known. Yet God did
\nhave a people throughout these ages, a people like Job, whose eyes were
\nopened to see. They were opened just enough that they could see what God
\nhad promised. That they could look down through the ages and through the
\ngenerations to Him who would come. And Job was able to cry out that he
\nknew that his \u201cRedeemer liveth\u201d. Though he lived thousands of years
\nbefore the coming of Christ, God gave him that faith to look down
\nthrough the ages by faith, to that One who would come, to that One who
\nwould die in his place, to that One who would be his Redeemer.<\/p>\n
Yet these things were hid for so long a time. For ages and for
\ngenerations. Thousands of years. From millions of people. The great, the
\nwise, the strong, the mighty. Those who were full of knowledge. Those
\nwho were learned, who had looked into these things. And yet this mystery
\nwas hid from them. It was hid from the ages and from the generations.
\nAnd it was only made known, and it is only made known, if God should
\nchoose to open the eyes to see, and God should choose to take this
\nmystery which was hid, and make it known and reveal it.<\/p>\n
Try all you will. Search all you will. Live for thousands of years and
\nlook into these things. Except God reveal, then this mystery will remain
\nhid from you too. It will remain in darkness, it will remain darkness to
\nyou, until such a time as God should say, \u201cLet there be light\u201d. Ian Potts<\/p>\n
Knowing The Secrets of God
\n\u2026..and Joseph answered Pharaoh saying, It is not in me; God shall give
\nPharaoh an answer of peace\u201d. (Genesis 41:16)
\nGod\u2019s will and purpose shall be known by the sons and daughters of Adams
\nrace, but how and by whom shall God reveal such wonders of his grace and
\nmercy? Joseph was the only one in the kingdom that understood and then
\nrevealed the perfect will of God to this sinful man. Our blessed and
\nsovereign Redeemer is the only one that reveals and opens our hearts and
\nminds to the will and purpose of the God of all glory.
\nTo know or be known of God is our basic and most urgent necessity and
\nonly in the person and by the worth of Jesus of Nazareth can we know our
\ngreat God. We are totally without sight (spiritual) in the things of
\nGod; we are totally without understanding in the truth of God; and we
\nare totally without grace apart from the workings of Christ revealing
\nand creating life within us.
\nGod, through Joseph revealed his truth to the king and showed him those
\nthings \u2018which must shortly come to pass.\u2019 God in like manner, through
\nthat most blest Son of Righteousness, shows unto his chosen bride, those
\nthings which we must have and possess whereby we are made \u2018accepted in
\nthe Beloved\u2019. I often hear people talk about coming or learning of \u2018god\u2019
\nby their own efforts or by some other way than that way purposed and
\nprescribed by Jehovah and this I know can never be so.
\nGod will not be known apart from His Son and those to whom he reveals
\nhimself by the blood of Jesus Christ . . . that great Revealer of the
\nsecrets of God.
\nDrew Dietz
\nRegeneration \/ Knowledge
\n\u201cBut ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the
\nSpirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of
\nChrist, he is none of His\u201d Romans 8:9
\nThis is a plain and simple declaration of God that those, who, at this
\npresent time, have God given faith in Christ for all their salvation
\nhave the Spirit of Christ dwelling in them. Although men may,
\nintellectually, have learned some truth, it is not possible to have
\nspiritual life, to love and embrace the truth of God apart from the
\nregenerating work of God the Spirit which indwells the believer upon
\nconversion. This miraculous work of omnipotence is the effectual
\nimpartation of the life (Spirit) of Christ to dead sinners, which is –
\n\u201cChrist in you, the hope of glory\u201d Colossians 1:27.
\nNot taking away from the importance, yea, the necessity of sound
\ndoctrine, I believe there is far too much emphasis placed and pressed
\nupon poor sinners as to what we know rather than WHO we know. It is not
\nWHAT we know that is of life giving efficacy, it is vital union with the
\nSon of God, who is our life – \u201cI in them, and thou in me, that they may
\nbe made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent
\nme, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me\u201d John 17:23. I, for one,
\nby God\u2019s grace, am determined to press upon men to come to Christ, to
\nlook to him in whom all truth is revealed, received and embraced by the
\nalmighty power of his blessed Spirit. There seems to be great
\nsatisfaction by many when men seem to give mental accent to doctrinal
\ntruth, however, in the scriptures and in the experience of grace, there
\nis life, hope, joy, peace, and rest only in knowing Christ by his
\nblessed Holy Spirit which he has given us.
\nWhat I am saying is this – If the Lord Jesus Christ dwells in me by his
\nSpirit, I have eternal life, which is his life. If Christ does not live
\nin me by his Spirit, I, as of yet, am still dead in trespasses and sin
\nand do not know Him, no matter how much I know. The most evident effect
\nof \u201cChrist in you\u201d is LOVE! – Love for him, love for His gospel, and
\nlove for the brethren – \u201cBeloved, let us love one another: for love is
\nof God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He
\nthat loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.\u201d 1John 4:7 -8.
\nTommy Robbins<\/p>\n
Lord, Make Us To See Our Need
\nThe voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass,
\nand all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass
\nwithereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth
\nupon it: surely the people is grass (Isa. 40:6-7).<\/p>\n
Unless the Lord is pleased to teach us and reveal to us what we are by
\nnature (Eph.2:1-3), we will never see our need for Christ and the gospel
\nof His free grace (Rom.3:24). We will never understand our need of Jesus
\nChrist and His great salvation, unless the Holy Spirit is pleased to
\nmove upon our heart (John 6:44-45). Only when He reveals unto us our
\nsinful condition, will we seek His salvation in Christ Jesus the Lord (1
\nTim.1:12). Only when He speaks to us about our righteousness as being
\nfilthy rags, will we seek His righteousness that is performed and
\nprovided freely by His grace (1 Cor. 1:30). Only when God reveals to us
\nour total ruin, will we seek redemption through the spotless blood of
\nthe Lamb, Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:7). Only when God is pleased to show us
\nhow unworthy we are, will we seek Him who is Worthy (Rev. 5:12). Lord,
\nmake us to know and see what our need is, so by thy Spirit and grace we
\ncan seek thy mercy where it can be found (Phil 3:9; 4:19). – Tom Harding<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mistaken or Satanic? Is doctrine contrary to the Gospel of grace mistaken or Satanic? Is it misinformed or the Devil\u2019s deception? Is it not full light, or is it darkness? Paul spoke of Satan\u2019s ministers as angels of light and ministers of righteousness (II Cor. 11:13-15). The Lord spoke of the teaching of Jezebel as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4945"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4947,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4945\/revisions\/4947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}