"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." John 14:16, NKJV
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement:" John 16:7-8, NKJV
The word that the King James Bible translated to Comforter, is in the ancient Greek - παράκλητος (paráklētos, that can signify "one who consoles or comforts, one who encourages or uplifts; hence refreshes, and/or one who intercedes on our behalf as an advocate in court"). This term is translated in many ways; Paraclete, Counselor, Advocate, Helper, Redeemer, and I'm sure others. Four times it is used to describe the Holy Spirit and once to describe Jesus Christ.
Jesus is very clear that there will be another - meaning there will be one similar to Him. This other Paraclete will be like Him, but will offer even more than Jesus could as one human man. One way to view this is that the Holy Spirit is to believers as Jesus Christ was to His apostles. Someone who is with us always and forever. Where Jesus was limited to His singular presence, while a human man on Earth, the Holy Spirit is unlimited and offers to us all what Jesus brought to His apostles.
This all brings me to a question I have been studying for the past few months - who and what is the Holy Spirit? God the Father is described as an "unapproachable light" who created the universe and whose vastness and power are truly unimaginable by His creation, man. God the Son has the appearance of a human man, because He was the model used by the Father, when man was created. Because man was modeled after the Son, there has always been a special, unbreakable, unconditional love for mankind by the Son. It is clear to me, that God, the Father had a very conditional love for man, and was continually disappointed and heart broken by His creation.
God the Father was attempting to create with man, what He had with the Son. The love bond between God, the Father and God, the Son is so strong and unbreakable, it became a "new flesh" - God, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit therefore has both components of the Father and the Son.
This model of love is behind the separation of Adam into a male and female, so as to allow them to be in relationship, to create "one flesh" - both the committed love relationship and the creation of a child "one flesh". This is also the model envisioned by Jesus when He spoke of himself as Bridegroom and the Church as Bride - to come together in a perfect union to create one flesh, an entirely new entity with the power of both.
Man had been created to choose a love relationship with the Father, but all too often chose the world instead. The Father tried to be more specific through the tablets and law of Moses, but to no avail, man continued to disappoint. The Son, who loves the Father and man, decided to correct this "dysfunctional" relationship for all time, by extending the Holy Spirit to man. It was clear to the Son that in order to extend the Holy Spirit to man, the Son must become man, fulfill the Law and the Prophets, become sin, die and be resurrected, overcoming sin, then return to heaven. Only then could man be seen by the Father as the Son and have the Holy Spirit extended to him.
I hope this helps clarify who and what the Holy Spirit is, the tremendous power He brings us, and the comfort He bestows. I also understand the confusion about the Holy Spirit, for even in the King James Bible, the Holy Spirit is given the "little h" - now you know, he is He!!! The Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God - for those who have eyes to see
In God's love,
The Reverend Doctor Douglas Stephenson
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Proof of Creation
But our God is in the heavens: he has done whatever he has pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like them; so is every one that trusts them.
NKJV Psalms 115:3-6
Jesus said Having eyes, see you not? and having ears, hear you not? and do you not remember?
NKJV Mark 8:18
For those that have eyes to see and ears to hear - absolute proof of creation is all around us, specifically, look to the skies. The relationship between the Earth, the Sun, and Moon is not happenstance. Albert Einstein said in a letter "I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not throw dice". Einstein also saw that the universe was not about random chance.
NKJV Psalms 115:3-6
Jesus said Having eyes, see you not? and having ears, hear you not? and do you not remember?
NKJV Mark 8:18
For those that have eyes to see and ears to hear - absolute proof of creation is all around us, specifically, look to the skies. The relationship between the Earth, the Sun, and Moon is not happenstance. Albert Einstein said in a letter "I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not throw dice". Einstein also saw that the universe was not about random chance.
The Sun is 400 times bigger (diameter) and further away from the Earth, than the Moon. Yet to our eye on Earth, they are exactly the same size. The Moon perfectly lines up and covers the entire disc of the Sun at eclipse. The Moon's day (axial rotation) is exactly the same as the time it takes to rotate around the earth once, a lunar month, or new Moon to new Moon.
Also because of it's orbit, we only see one side of the Moon. The equivalent would be if someone looked at Earth from high above the north pole and only saw the northern hemisphere, never the southern. The northern hemisphere summer would be like a full moon, fall and spring like the first and last quarter moon and winter would be like a new moon. There is no "dark side" of the Moon, just the side we don't see. The Sun shines on the Moon all over, just like the Earth. It is in this relationship that we have the Moon's phases, which are in fact, only real from our perspective.
It is impossible for this perfect relationship to be anything other than created. To believe that the moon is a product of a "glancing blow" between Earth and another planet, leaving debris in this exact location is ludicrous. There is not enough random chance to give the odds of this occurring - what, a gazillion to one!!! I have always felt that believing in a universe without a Creator, is a belief in total fantasy.
However, we know that many people in fact are like the idol's and their makers - with non-seeing eyes and non-hearing ears. If a person is unwilling to see this most basic, most obvious truth, I doubt there is hope for enlightenment.
This brings me to the point of plant, animal and human creation. To remove God, the Father as Creator, leaves you with a fairy tale, which goes something like this -
Once upon a time about 15 billion years ago, a really big bang occurred that took all of the matter in the universe from a very small core to hurling outward at the speed of light. All of this chaos began to spin and become spherical, forming planets and galaxies and the like. In one little corner of the universe, the milky way galaxy came into being and in one little corner of that, our solar system. There was this giant ball of nuclear fusion and a comparably tiny planet that formed just at the right distance to be neither too cold or too hot. The moon was cast out of the earth to come to its exact resting place and all of the other planets happened along as well - all in a perfect elliptical orbit.
Then on the 3rd rock from the big ball of fire, circumstances came to be that a "primordial ooze" with all the elements for life. This total coincidence was chemically altered by a lightning bolt which in turn lead to the first cell. The cell knew it had a better chance of survival if it teamed up with other cells, this leading to fish evolving to amphibians evolving to reptiles evolving to animals and finally man.
Who wouldn't find this totally believable, oh and there is absolutely no proof of any of it!!! Of course God, the Father created all things and He created plants, animals and even man with the ability to evolve to better fit and survive in their environment. All species have evolved to some degree to fit their environment, but it is the height of folly to believe one species magically evolves into another - POPPYCOCK!!!
For those that have eyes to see and ears to hear ....
In Christ,
The Reverend Doctor Douglas Stephenson
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
7 Billion on Earth
Reflecting back on mankind as we reach the 7 Billionth earthly inhabitant, forces me to ask the questions, how and why so long? God, the Father created man a very long time ago over a period of time measured as one of God's days (Genesis 1:26-31; Genesis 2:7-23). On this day, God created man, all the creatures of the earth, Adam named all the creatures, God created Woman and God warned of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now that was a day!!
I don't know how long one of God, the Father's days is, but it seems to be very long as measured by man's 24 hour day/night cycle. Is it 1,000 years (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8) or longer? It is enough to know that He created us in His time and not get caught up in things we can not know.
I do believe that man has been on earth a very long time, but had never reached even the first billion people until 1804. This is long before immunizations, indoor plumbing and all of the other modern inventions said to allow for this growth. Even now, the vast majority of people live in undeveloped ares that still do not have plumbing, clean water, immunizations or any other modern inventions.
Man has been killing each other by the millions, diseases have killed millions over the years - but still we grow. How did we reach the first billion, not to mention 7 billion?
In a phrase - God, the Father quit annihilating us. Over a very long period of time, the Father destroyed the wicked, whom He had created. I think that we sometimes forget that God, the Father created all life and men. Mankind has chosen sin over the Father from the very beginning (Genesis 3:11). God, the Father has destroyed the wicked, His creations, in numerous ways - Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-25); the Flood (Genesis 7:23); Egypt's firstborn (Exodus12:29); His own chosen people (Exodus 32:27); and several other examples in the Old Testament.
God, the Father created man in God, the Son's image and fully expected them to follow His will. It seems clear to me, that the Father was unexpectedly disappointed with man from the very beginning (Genesis 3:11-13). God, the Father knows all things, all past. all present, and all future. He knows all of the possibilities from every decision man makes, every second of every day. However, because He gave man choice, He does not know which way each individual decision will actually be made. God the Father knows all of our potential destinies, just not which one we will choose.
Because of man's choices and wickedness, the Father has destroyed us many times in many ways, in vast numbers. This all stopped when God, the Son came down to Earth, was born as man, took the appearance of an average middle eastern jewish male named Jesus, sacrificed himself, by his own choice, became sin, then overcame all sin, was resurrected, resumed his Heavenly appearance (Luke 24:38-40) keeping his humanly scars intact, then finally ascended back up to heaven.
To summarize, God, the Father routinely destroyed the wicked, whom he had created for relationship with Him. After God, the Son came down and became fully human as Jesus Christ, became sin, then overcame it - the Father then began to see the Son in all men and stopped destroying us. Thus, we welcome the 7 billionth human today. All men created by God, the Father, are able to choose the Son, hence the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20)
In Christ,
Reverend Doctor Douglas Stephenson
I don't know how long one of God, the Father's days is, but it seems to be very long as measured by man's 24 hour day/night cycle. Is it 1,000 years (Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8) or longer? It is enough to know that He created us in His time and not get caught up in things we can not know.
I do believe that man has been on earth a very long time, but had never reached even the first billion people until 1804. This is long before immunizations, indoor plumbing and all of the other modern inventions said to allow for this growth. Even now, the vast majority of people live in undeveloped ares that still do not have plumbing, clean water, immunizations or any other modern inventions.
Man has been killing each other by the millions, diseases have killed millions over the years - but still we grow. How did we reach the first billion, not to mention 7 billion?
In a phrase - God, the Father quit annihilating us. Over a very long period of time, the Father destroyed the wicked, whom He had created. I think that we sometimes forget that God, the Father created all life and men. Mankind has chosen sin over the Father from the very beginning (Genesis 3:11). God, the Father has destroyed the wicked, His creations, in numerous ways - Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-25); the Flood (Genesis 7:23); Egypt's firstborn (Exodus12:29); His own chosen people (Exodus 32:27); and several other examples in the Old Testament.
God, the Father created man in God, the Son's image and fully expected them to follow His will. It seems clear to me, that the Father was unexpectedly disappointed with man from the very beginning (Genesis 3:11-13). God, the Father knows all things, all past. all present, and all future. He knows all of the possibilities from every decision man makes, every second of every day. However, because He gave man choice, He does not know which way each individual decision will actually be made. God the Father knows all of our potential destinies, just not which one we will choose.
Because of man's choices and wickedness, the Father has destroyed us many times in many ways, in vast numbers. This all stopped when God, the Son came down to Earth, was born as man, took the appearance of an average middle eastern jewish male named Jesus, sacrificed himself, by his own choice, became sin, then overcame all sin, was resurrected, resumed his Heavenly appearance (Luke 24:38-40) keeping his humanly scars intact, then finally ascended back up to heaven.
To summarize, God, the Father routinely destroyed the wicked, whom he had created for relationship with Him. After God, the Son came down and became fully human as Jesus Christ, became sin, then overcame it - the Father then began to see the Son in all men and stopped destroying us. Thus, we welcome the 7 billionth human today. All men created by God, the Father, are able to choose the Son, hence the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20)
In Christ,
Reverend Doctor Douglas Stephenson
Sunday, October 30, 2011
In the beginning... Lesson 1
Since this is my first blog, it felt right to begin at the beginning. God, the Father appears to humans in many ways - pillar of clouds; pillar of fire; burning bush; unapproachable light; "no man can see me and live" - clearly, humans were not modeled after the Father.
NKJV Genesis1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image" - God must be talking about the image of the Son. Multiple times in Exodus and elsewhere, men are seeing God, the Father and the Son - the Father as some form of power and light, the Son as a man. God the Father, utilized the Son as his model for man and also likely for the angels. Most if not all references about angels are in human male appearance. Most strikingly when two angels came into Sodom looking for 10 righteous men and stopped at Lot's home NKJV Genesis 19:5 "Where are the men who came to you tonight?"
God, the Father created angels, then man in the image of God, the Son. The angels were created to do the will of God, the Father - without choice or feeling. Angels are unable to feel pride or joy or greed or lust - they simply and completely do as God, the Father commands.
Humans were created by the Father for relationship. The Father wanted a being that had the ability to choose this relationship with Him. The Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in continuous relationship as God, and the angels were not created for this purpose, opening this path for man.
Man was created from dust by the hand of the Father, modeled after the Son, then having life breathed into him NKJV Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Choice is the key component in all of the Bible and God's Holy word. In order to have a true relationship, man must choose God, the Father. Therefore, choice must be provided on earth. This is the absolute most important concept in God's word. I believe the two most misunderstood aspects in the Bible are 1; the Holy Trinity and 2; Choice and all it's ramifications.
There must be choice at every level and in every decision man makes - to choose God or to rebuke Him. The job of providing this key element on earth, this singular most important element leading to a true relationship with the Father was given to His greatest angel, the morning star, Satan. We get a glimpse into this with Job NKJV Job 1:8 "the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came among them" then God speaking to Satan in Job 1:12 "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person"
To summarize today's lesson - We have God, as the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The creation of angels in the image of the Son, to do God's will. The creation of man, in the Son's image, granted choice for relationship with the Father. The reality of Satan, directed by the Father, to provide this choice on earth. Much more to come...
In Christ,
Reverend Doctor Douglas Stephenson
NKJV Genesis1:26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image" - God must be talking about the image of the Son. Multiple times in Exodus and elsewhere, men are seeing God, the Father and the Son - the Father as some form of power and light, the Son as a man. God the Father, utilized the Son as his model for man and also likely for the angels. Most if not all references about angels are in human male appearance. Most strikingly when two angels came into Sodom looking for 10 righteous men and stopped at Lot's home NKJV Genesis 19:5 "Where are the men who came to you tonight?"
God, the Father created angels, then man in the image of God, the Son. The angels were created to do the will of God, the Father - without choice or feeling. Angels are unable to feel pride or joy or greed or lust - they simply and completely do as God, the Father commands.
Humans were created by the Father for relationship. The Father wanted a being that had the ability to choose this relationship with Him. The Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in continuous relationship as God, and the angels were not created for this purpose, opening this path for man.
Man was created from dust by the hand of the Father, modeled after the Son, then having life breathed into him NKJV Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Choice is the key component in all of the Bible and God's Holy word. In order to have a true relationship, man must choose God, the Father. Therefore, choice must be provided on earth. This is the absolute most important concept in God's word. I believe the two most misunderstood aspects in the Bible are 1; the Holy Trinity and 2; Choice and all it's ramifications.
There must be choice at every level and in every decision man makes - to choose God or to rebuke Him. The job of providing this key element on earth, this singular most important element leading to a true relationship with the Father was given to His greatest angel, the morning star, Satan. We get a glimpse into this with Job NKJV Job 1:8 "the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came among them" then God speaking to Satan in Job 1:12 "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person"
To summarize today's lesson - We have God, as the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The creation of angels in the image of the Son, to do God's will. The creation of man, in the Son's image, granted choice for relationship with the Father. The reality of Satan, directed by the Father, to provide this choice on earth. Much more to come...
In Christ,
Reverend Doctor Douglas Stephenson
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