Our Sermon Section
By Chip - 17 Oct 2011
In Reference to: 11 September 1988 - ALL OF HELL WITNESSED JESUS CHRIST’S VICTORY
Good evening my fellow Bible reader. I am glad to see we agree on so many points; we are at least both heading in the right direction. I would request though, that when you make a statement like "in the spirit they are equal" pertaining to Jesus and Jehovah, you would be kind enough to reference a scripture or two, so that I may follow along with your studies.
I have not seen a scripture detailing Jesus' equality in heaven (in spirit). I may have missed something. I concluded he was inferior to God because he referred to himself as God's son, his Logos (Word) and as God's archangel (Michael) while he was in his pre-human life in heaven. None of those titles or names indicate equality to me. Please, correct me if I'm wrong. Even Paul recognized him to be "the firstborn of all creation" and "the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1: 15) If he were part of God or God incarnate I'm pretty sure Paul could have written that just as easily and since he was under inspiration, he would have been compelled to. Almighty God Jehovah wasn't created. He is the omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent God Almighty. Jesus never made such a claim, as far as I know.
You speak the truth when you say most "Christians" get it wrong. Our sermon today (at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses) was about keeping oneself free from the world. Many so-called Christians are so busy with pursuits of the flesh they have no time for God and studying his requirements for his "sheep." Many take John 3:16 as though God loves us unconditionally. That is true to a point. He wants to love us, but the very next verse says we are to be saved. The implication is clear, we are to be saved OUT of the world. We can be no part of the world and expect God's continued love and blessing. John writes further on the matter. In 1 John 2:15-17 he highlights what we must do to gain and maintain Gods approval. We are to alienate ourselves from this wicked world; mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Soon, after Armegeddon, we will be separated from the wicked physically; for the wicked will be done away with. (Psalms 37:10,11)
We must be cautious not to take sides in earth's political squabbling, either deliberately or by passive involvement. John 15: 18,19 confirms our need for neutrality as followers of Jehovah. We are to be hated by the world, just as Jesus was. If we are not, perhaps we haven't "alienated" ourselves far enough. If we still love facets of Satan's world, if we still find pleasure in the works of Satan, if we accept teachings outside of scripture are we not guilty of collaborating with the enemy? This point made me think long and hard! There is a heavy cost to be a servant of Jehovah. Jesus and many in the first century gave their lives to it and for it. Around the world now, and in the recent past, many JW's have been murdered in the name of war, religious oppression and Satanic influence. This is to be expected. (Luke 14:28) Have we counted the cost? Do we have what it takes to finish what we start?
Our elder made it clear that our mind's eye should see the path clearly. We either walk with God or Satan; there is no middle path. Compromising is not an option. Jesus overcame all the challenges he faced and was victorious in keeping his faith to God; his example strengthens us. (John 16:33) We all need to meditate and expect challenges soon.
I found his sermon today to be encouraging, I hope these excerpts were of benefit to you as well.
As to my point about my Father and I being one... I was not implying a relationship like that of God and Jesus existed with my father and me; I was merely showing that the language of the scripture alludes to a similar "union" in the phraseology. I would never compare myself to Jesus, except that he too had a familial relationship to his father. If you added up all the scriptures where Jesus says he is NOT equal to God and list them next to the two or three that maybe , possibly could be interpreted to show them to be equal (John 1:1 and two or three others) you will see it obvious that the full text comparisons overwhelmingly tilt toward them being independent, not one in the same. If it were a court case, the preponderance of evidence would sway a jury.
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