101123 faithposting

[prismaticbleed]

 



Final sections of Gill's commentary.

"Upon this occasion, on account of the prevailing hardness and unbelief of the Jewish nation, and the non-confession of Him by those who did believe Him to be the Messiah, He cried with a loud voice, that He might be heard [by them all], and His audience left inexcusable; it denotes the concern of His mind, the vehemence of His spirit, and that openness and freedom in which He discharged His ministry, by showing the nature, excellency, and usefulness of believing in Him, and the dangerous consequences of unbelief..."
No matter how foolish & weak we are in our faith, Jesus is vehemently concerned for our salvation, and He will first exhaust His resources in reaching us before He leaves us in our unbelief, whether active or passive-- because a reticence to confess Him WILL degrade into unbelief if persistent. But before any such abandonment occurs, Jesus will CRY OUT to us. He will SHOUT a rousing word to our cowering soul, in one last unignorable effort to shake us from sleep. 
He knows that if He leaves us we WILL DIE, and so He REFUSES TO LEAVE US unless we continue to push Him away. Then He will respect our free will, and stop drawing close, despite the immense pain it causes Him.
The nature of believing in Him is TRUSTING FAITH IN GOD & HUMBLE LOVE OF GOD. That's the bottom line; without those you really CAN'T believe in Christ because HE IS GOD.
The excellency of believing in Him is apparent: it includes the unmerited honor of following the Truth, the revelation of the greater Law of Love that looses the bonds of ritual, and the restored dignity of human life united to God.
The usefulness of believing in Him is inherent in its excellence, and to us poor humans it is blessedly limitless: the empowerment in virtue & victory over sin, the true knowledge of God & freedom from error, the deliverance from helpless darkness to faithful light, the promise of eternal Life that conquers all death... we could go on and on.
As for unbelief... what else can it give but the opposite? It is a prison of darkness, ignorance, fear, grief, pride, sin, and death. It has no hope, no purpose, and no future. It desperately and foolishly idolizes self only to be utterly destroyed like the golden calf.
Christ knows the consequences of rejecting Him. He NEVER abandons ANYONE to such a doom... We CHOOSE it, over Him.


"And he that seeth me, seeth him that sent me. Not with bodily eyes, for there were many that saw Christ, who never saw the Father: they saw Christ as a mere man, and were offended at the meanness of his outward appearance; they saw nothing divine in him, nor the glory of the Father through him; but with the eyes of the understanding, whoever saw or perceived the glory of Christ in his miracles, saw the glory of God in them also, for the Father that dwelt in Him did the works, and whoever truly sees Christ with an eye of faith, sees His glory, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father: as the brightness of His Father's glory, as having the fulness of the Godhead dwelling in Him, the same perfections as in the Father; so that he that hath seen the one, hath seen the other also."
This is actually vitally important, because in both polytheistic religions AND secular pop-paganism, we see the exact opposite-- "gods" typically ARE "gods" BECAUSE they LOOK THE PART. This is comically obvious in video games & superhero movies, too.
But it's ALL a reflection of LUCIFER, who figured he deserved to rival the actual and only God BECAUSE he, although a creature, was so beautiful. That was pure pride, and all modern "deities" are equally guilty of it, inevitably being devilish in ultimate nature as well. 
It's really a terribly evil mindset, especially in mortal man, because this deification of "beauty" will always end in hatred, rejection, & abuse of the "ugly"... and that class always includes the poor.
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Also, as to the startling fact that people recognized Christ AS divine THROUGH His miracles-- this was NOT because they were "astounding" or "amazing" as if they were magic tricks or impressive shows of power. Fake gods specialize in that kind of "miracle"-- extravagant displays of supernatural power that only belong in a Final Fantasy game; they do no actual good, and glorify no one but themselves. But Jesus? He only said a word, with no pomp whatsoever, and suddenly the impossible was done... and never with an eye to His own fame, which He actually explicitly forbade the promotion of. Jesus's miracles were done for the sick, for the poor, for the outcast, for the desperate, for the forsaken, for the despised, but above all for the humble & believing.
Every one of His miracles had a single constant goal= to manifest the Kingdom of God, and by doing so, to bring glory to the Triune God... whose Kingdom Law is that of Holy Justice & Merciful Love. BOTH of those tenets were clearly expressed in Christ's miracles: He crushed the devil's unlawful power, and healed the mortals oppressed by his cruelty. To recognize THAT in His miracles, would absolutely be to recognize the Hand of God at work.
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Still, it never fails to amaze me that "IN Christ dwells the FULLNESS of the Godhead." Every word is stunning.
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""And if any man hear my words and believe not"... Men may hear the Gospel of Christ, and not understand it; and they may understand it literally and grammatically, though not spiritually and experimentally, and not believe it; not so much as give credit or an assent to the truth of it, but reject and deny it; for though faith comes by hearing to some, it does not come to all: some receive no profit by hearing it, because it is not mixed with faith by them. [Some] read the last clause thus, "and [do not] keep [my words]"; or does not observe them, is negligent of them, and shows no regard, and yields not the obedience of faith to them; the sense is the same."
This is so important; these are ALL obstacles to saving belief.
We cannot believe the Gospel in truth if we do not understand it-- WITH OUR HEARTS. That distinction is stunning.
I have known people who studied religion, and definitely "understood" Christ's words, but only in the way one understands the point of an essay. They agreed that He said it, and could even recite it to you, BUT they did not agree it was TRUE, in a deeper sense than the fact of it being written down.
...It's so interesting. Belief, as it seems, is not "logical". It is personal. When you believe Christ, you feel it. You KNOW His Words are true, because something in your very soul asserts it.
But it goes even deeper. Feelings can still trick us. The true belief is the faith in Christ AS TRUE HIMSELF. If you believe IN HIM, then you KNOW with BOTH mind and heart that everything He says is trustworthy.
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"He that rejecteth me,.... As the Messiah, with abhorrence and contempt, as many among the Jews did, who would not have him to reign over them, but sought to put Him to death..."
Christ's Messiahship implies rule.
...It's such a twisted and appalling thought process, however unconscious, that not only denies the need of a Savior, but hates Him, and SUCH a Savior as Christ is, so loving & pure & honest... to reject Him, and refuse the rule of such a One-- what the heck else did they want??
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⭐⭐⭐""And I know that His commandment is life everlasting"= By "His commandment" is NOT meant the Law; that indeed is often styled the commandment; and it is the commandment of God; and many excellent things are said of it; and among the rest it is called "life", but not everlasting life: it only promised a continuation of natural life to man, on condition of obedience to it; it did not even promise more than this to Adam in innocence; and what it promised to the obedient Israelites, was likewise only a prolongation of natural life in the land which God gave unto them: but it neither promises, nor gives spiritual life to the fallen sons of Adam; it leaves men as it finds them, dead in trespasses and sins; and cannot communicate either a life of sanctification, or of justification to them; nor does it so much as give them any hopes of life, or show where it is to be had; nor is everlasting life to be obtained by the works of it: justification is not by the works of the law; nor salvation by works of righteousness done by men; and consequently eternal life is never to be attained unto by obedience to the commands of the law: it is so far from being in this sense life everlasting, that it is the ministration of condemnation and death. But the Gospel is here meant, and is called a commandment; not that it has the nature of a law, or consists of precepts, as the law does; but because it is by the commandment of the everlasting God published by Christ, and His apostles. Christ, as appears from the preceding verse, had a commandment from His Father, what He should say and speak... it was a commandment of the Father that He should deliver that doctrine... the sense is, that the doctrine of the Gospel, which Christ had in commission from the Father to preach, IS life everlasting; and is so called, because it is a means of quickening sinners with a spiritual life, which issues in an eternal one; it is the savour of life unto life, and the Spirit which giveth life, and is the ministration of it; and it is a means of implanting the graces of the Spirit of God in the heart, which sprung up unto everlasting life; and of bringing souls to the knowledge of Christ, which IS the beginning, pledge, and earnest of eternal life: and besides all this, it gives an account of the nature of eternal life; it directs the way unto it, which is by Christ, and describes the persons who shall enjoy it; showing, that their title to it is the righteousness of Christ, and their meetness for it the regenerating grace of the Spirit; and that all that believe in Christ shall have it."
I LITERALLY DON'T HAVE THE WORDS TO DESCRIBE HOW LIFECHANGING ALL OF THIS IS.
This actually EXPLAINS the contrast between the Law and the Gospel. This EXPLAINS eternal life WITHIN the Gospel. I NEVER KNEW HOW THIS WORKED BEFORE. I just accepted the basic phrases as fact on faith without understanding the reasons or truths behind it at all... no wonder I struggled with confusion and doubt. But THIS, oh man, this is a direct light from God chasing the shadows away. Thank You Lord, thank You so much, PLEASE help me completely understand & integrate & remember & treasure this essential truth, so that I can LIVE IT and SHARE IT WITH OTHERS.
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Okay, line by line.
(Law is TEMPORAL LIFE!!! EVEN FOR ADAM!!! NO ONE GOT THE FRUIT!!!
(Condition of obedience ALWAYS, inherently implying Life is WITH GOD
(NO SPIRITUAL LIFE TO THE FALLEN. That was LOST with Adam and couldn't be gained by ANY MORTAL ACT
(NEVER MADE ANY SUCH PROMISE. We never realized that key distinction!
(LEAVES YOU AS DEAD AS IT FOUND YOU. MAN THAT HITS HARD.
(no communication
(No sanctification or justification! Again it never promised this. Plus it is not a PERSON, it cannot intercede or aid.
(NO HOPE!!!! DOESN'T EVEN TELL YOU WHERE HOPE IS!!!
(works cannot justify. Sad relevance to life examples "earn back respect" etc. Cannot undo the wound. Cannot repair the damage.
(No salvation by righteousness OF MAN detail. remember ONLY GOD IS ACTUALLY RIGHTEOUS!!
(obedience to the law, however perfect, will NEVER give eternal life. This is essential to tell people nowadays. The very essence if eternal life CANNOT BE "EARNED" OR "OBTAINED" OR "ACQUIRED." it comes from GOD ALONE, Because ONLY GOD IS ETERNAL.
(Law of condemnation & death= the lament of the ages. See Saint Paul. Modern legal system feels the same.
(THE UNEXPECTED DEFINITION OF "COMMANDMENT" TO JESUS!!! The command IS THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL, because THE GOSPEL IS ETERNAL LIFE!!!
(I NEVER had a definition of "Gospel" before, but apparently it's just "everything God commanded Jesus to say & speak"? And taken altogether it IS doctrine, it IS eternal life BECAUSE it is THE EXPRESS WORD OF GOD.
(The Gospel is NOT a set of precepts! Jesus didn't do that and reading Scripture proves it.
(The Gospel GIVES SPIRITUAL LIFE.
(SPIRITUAL LIFE IS THE FOUNDATION OF ETERNAL LIFE!!!
(THE HOLY SPIRIT COMMUNICATES THIS LIFE THROUGH THE GOSPEL?????? Dude I never actually considered HIS role in this before, which is ridiculous because HE IS THE GIVER OF LIFE!!!
(The Gospel LITERALLY plants seeds of grace in the heart-- HENCE THE PARABLE!!!
(Most importantly = YOU CANNOT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE WITHOUT  CHRIST, BECAUSE HE IS ETERNAL LIFE. WE ONLY LEARN OF HIM THROUGH HIS SELF-REVELATION IN THE GOSPEL. Thus the Gospel ONLY gives us true knowledge of Christ, which IS KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, and if we are GRACED with that knowledge WE'RE ON OUR WAY.
(THE WAY IS CHRIST. He says this word for word.
(THE NATURE of eternal life is UNION WITH GOD. It is SHARING HIS LIFE because He alone is eternal.
(Our TITLE to it is CHRIST'S RIGHTEOUSNESS, which we ONLY have ANY part of BY THE CROSS.
(Our MEETNESS for it is the REGENERATING GRACE OF THE SPIRIT!! Again, don't forget Him! And DON'T DESPAIR!! You always forget that ETERNAL LIFE IS NOT REALIZED ON EARTH. We only have the PLEDGE in Christ. Until then we're being FITTED FOR IT, made ready for those mansions.
(ALL THAT BELIEVE IN CHRIST SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. That is so ineffably beautiful i could weep. THAT'S A PROMISE, because HE HIMSELF IS THAT LIFE.
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Some heavy hitters from a B. Thomas sermon.

FIRST from Google =

"I describe a distinctive, aesthetically-inflected mode of admiration called moral attraction whose object is the inner beauty of a person: the expression of the 'inner' virtues or excellences of character of a person in 'outer' forms of bodily comportment that are experienced, by others, as beautiful."
Applying this to God= He IS Virtue, the very Cause & Source of it in men, and so everything He does is colored with that moral excellence. In Creation, we see the "outer forms" of that divine beauty, and inevitably, IT DEFINES OUR OWN CONCEPTION OF "BEAUTY." But nowhere is God's "beautiful inner virtue" expressed & manifested so clearly, as it is in JESUS CHRIST, Who IS God's very Expression. To readily see Jesus AS beautiful, IN HIS MORAL EXCELLENCY, is to experience moral attraction. This means that we recognize His inner beauty despite all potential external 'obstacles', such as His utter poverty and His Passion.

"The voluntary moral attraction of cooperative humans by divine goodness is central to divine guidance..."
What boggles my mind here is "VOLUNTARY." That's a game-changer. It means we CAN CHOOSE to "see what is beautiful" in God, even if we don't see it automatically, and our freely choosing TO seek it anyway ACTUALLY OPENS OUR HEART TO IT. "Believing IS seeing," remember Lazarus!!! This choice counts as cooperation WITH God's Goodness, because God WILL NOT FORCE US even to do what is good. But once we tune in of our own choice, the floodgates open up for us.
...It basically means, that instead of being attracted to evil deeds, we CHOOSE to be attracted to good ones, BY GRACE??