If that is true, then the statement that only God is good is not valid

Unknown ...... unfortunately ... prophesies here does not denote speaking in tongue ... most studies shows that it refers to speaking for God and even speaking God into others.

To prophesy for God is not to predict. To predict is to foretell an event before it occurs. This is not the meaning conveyed in 1 Corinthians 14. One version of Bible renders this word "to be a prophet preaching." However, the term prophet may lead people to understand the Greek word here as referring to predicting. Actually, what the prophets of God spoke in the Old Testament did not altogether consist of predictions; rather, their speaking included a great measure of exhortations and warnings. In 1 Corinthians 14, in speaking of prophesying for God, Paul did not have any intention for us to speak in tongues or to predict; his intention was that we all speak for God. God desires to speak to His people. However, He would not speak directly to them; He wants us to speak for Him. Therefore, this matter is very precious, and for this reason it is also quite difficult.

First Corinthians 14:3 says, "But he who prophesies speaks to men building up and encouragement and consolation." Building up is for the church; the church needs the words of building up. Exhortation is for the work; the Lord's work needs the words of exhortation. Consolation is for the believers; every believer needs the words of consolation, because every day we all have problems and worries, and we all need to be consoled. Therefore, when we prophesy for God in the church meetings, we first need to take care of the building of the church of God, that the church may be built up. Second, we need to take care of the Lord's work. Because they have many problems, everyone who works for the Lord needs incitement and encouragement. Third, we also need to take care of all God's children that they may have joy and satisfaction. Therefore, we should remember that to prophesy is to speak building up for the church, to speak encouragement for the work, and to speak consolation for the believers.

This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 1 2013, 12:47 PM

Well, good point of pointing out the need to be in our human spirit, even in typing out words

The Bible is a book of life, and this life is a living person,
the wonderful and all-inclusive Christ
as the unsearchably rich One.

The church is produced from the unsearchable riches of Christ, which are what Christ is to us,
such as light, life, righteousness, and holiness,
what He has for us, and what He has accomplished,
attained, and obtained for us.

We need to experience and enjoy the all-inclusive Christ
as Emmanuel, God with us,
so that, according to God’s economy,
the individual Emmanuel may become the church
as the corporate Emmanuel.

We all need to eat the same spiritual food
and drink the same spiritual drink,
enjoying the all-inclusive Christ as everything in the church
as the corporate Christ, the Body-Christ.

Here evil refers to the lack of peace.

The chapter (well more chapters) is on Christ as servant of Jehovah as typified by Cyrus to be Jehovah's shepherd and to fulfill all the desires of Jehovah.

This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 5 2013, 10:43 AM

Well, not to mix you up

But, from my understanding from the Bible, everyone who dies before the resurrection is in Hades (saved in Paradise section) and not saved (in the other side).

Of course, I am the minority that do not accept on "going to heaven" thingy

For me, it is not just not scriptural nor according to the divine revelation


To each his own ...

This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 5 2013, 12:11 PM

Hi skydrake,

Here are some verses if you like:

Genesis 42:38 says, “Then you will bring down my gray hairs in sorrow to Sheol.” These were Jacob’s words. Jacob said that he would go in sorrow to Sheol, which is equal to Hades in the New Testament. Perhaps some would say, “This is because Jacob was a bad person who could not be compared with his father, Isaac, and much less with his grandfather, Abraham. It is right for a person like him to go down to Hades. Abraham, however, probably did not go down to Hades.” Nevertheless, Genesis 49:33 says that Jacob “expired, and he was gathered to his people.” Jacob was gathered to his people. In other words, he went to the place where Abraham and Isaac were.

Psalm 16:10 says, “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol.” This is not only a prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus but also a reference to David, a saint in the Old Testament. According to this word, the Old Testament saints admitted that their souls would go down to Hades at the time of their death. The statement You will not abandon my soul to Sheol tells us two things. First, it tells us that their souls would go to Hades and second, that their souls would not be abandoned to Hades. This means that although their souls would go to Hades, they would be resurrected one day and would therefore not be abandoned to Hades.

Of course, you have the story of Lazarus...

In Luke 23 the repentant robber who was being crucified said to the Lord Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, Today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (vv. 42-43). This word clearly shows us that on the same day that the Lord Jesus died, the robber went with Him to Paradise. You may think that on the day the Lord Jesus died, the robber went with Him to a heavenly mansion. However, Matthew 12:40 says, “For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” The Lord died and was in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Immediately after the Lord yielded up His spirit on the cross, His spirit and soul departed from His body, not to go to a heavenly mansion but to Hades, and stayed in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

John 3:13, which was spoken by the Lord Jesus while He was on the earth as the Son of Man, says, “And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.” While the Lord was on the earth, He said that no one had ascended to heaven. This indicates that all the spirits and souls of the saints who died in the Old Testament did not go to heaven, because no one other than the Lord had ever ascended to heaven.

Acts 2:34 says, “David did not ascend into the heavens.” These words were spoken by Peter on the day of Pentecost after the Lord Jesus had ascended. Furthermore, his tomb was still among the disciples on the day of Pentecost (v. 29).

Well .. some verses are not so direct ... I guess this is enough

Re: Mark 15:35-36

... Yup... the Jews looks for this based on Malachi 4.

In His ministry Christ is the Lord before whom Elijah came to prepare His way. This is prophesied in Malachi 4:5 and 6: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” This word is fulfilled in Matthew 3:1-3 and 17:10-13. Malachi 4:5 prophesied that Elijah would come. When John the Baptist was conceived, it was said that he would go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). Hence, John may be considered “Elijah, who is about to come” (Matt. 11:14).

According to Matthew 3:3, John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way of the Lord, to make His paths straight. This was to change the mind of the people, to turn their mind to the Lord and to make their heart right, to cause every part and avenue of their heart to be straightened by the Lord through repentance for the kingdom (Luke 1:16-17). John the Baptist prepared the way so that Christ could come to dispense God into all those who would be called by Him.

In Matthew 17:10 some of the Lord’s disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” The matter of Elijah coming first is according to Malachi 4:5-6. In Matthew 17:11 the Lord replied, “Elijah indeed is coming and will restore all things.” This will be fulfilled at the time of the great tribulation, when Elijah will be one of the two witnesses (Rev. 11:3-4). In Matthew 17:12 the Lord continued, “But I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished.” This refers to John the Baptist (Matt. 17:13), who came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:13-17) and was rejected (Matt. 11:18) and beheaded (Matt. 14:3-12). On the one hand, Elijah has come; on the other hand, he has not yet come in full. John the Baptist was Elijah, but he was not Elijah in full. The full coming of Elijah will take place in the future.

In the Bible the fulfillment of prophecy is often like this. First there is a partial fulfillment, then the complete fulfillment. In His ministry Christ was the One before whom Elijah came to prepare His way.

There are exceptions to what I mentioned earlier ... God really kept these two in a special place (twilight music )

The Scriptures say that Elijah will come back again (Mal. 4:5; Luke 1:17; Matt. 11:14; 17:10-13; cf. 17:3-4; Rev. 11:3-12). At the end of the New Testament age, the great tribulation will be a time like Ahab's time, and Elijah will return as the same kind of witness. During the three and a half years of the great tribulation, God will be forced to use Elijah again to burn His enemies with fire (Rev. 11:5). Eventually, Elijah will be killed, and after three and a half days he will rise up and be raptured to join not just the Old Testament saints but also the New Testament overcomers.

Moses died and his body was hidden by God (Deut. 34:5-6); That, even Satan fought over Michael over his body (Jude 9). Elijah was taken into heaven alive (2 Kings 2:11). God purposely did this so that Moses and Elijah might appear before the Lord Jesus in His transfiguration on the mount and converse with Him concerning His death (Luke 9:31), which was spoken of in the Old Testament (Luke 24:25-27, 44; 1 Cor. 15:3). They were preserved by God so that they could be the two witnesses in the great tribulation.

This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 6 2013, 09:19 AM

We are blind men trying to identify what an elephant is, but most of the time, yelling "it long and thin(tail)", or "it's thick and hard (body)", or etc ..



This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 6 2013, 10:18 AM

Are you a Christian and do you know anything on spiritual significance of types?

Hmm ..... a bit tough to explain to a non-Christian ....

You do know that the Bible has an Old and New Testament? What is in the Old Testament is a typology, a set of types and shadows. But we see the fulfillment in the New Testament of the typology in the Old Testament concerning God’s purpose.

Thus, the entire Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament, is first a picture of God’s economy and then a full definition and fulfillment of God’s economy. On the one hand, if we want to know the Old Testament, we must come to the New Testament definition. In the Old Testament, we can see only the pictures. On the other hand, if we want to know the New Testament, we have to spend the time to look at all these pictures.

In today’s schools the good lesson books have pictures and then definitions. The pictures (Old Testament) and the definitions (New Testament) form a strong basic principle for us to understand the Bible. If you do not know this principle, you will create mixture and confusion from the teachings of the Bible.

E.g.

1) The entire history of Israel was a type of the church. Israel's experience mirrors the church's experiences spiritually.

2) God has used many women to typify the church. Eve typifies the church comes out of Christ. Genesis contains, in addition to the story of Eve, the story of Rebecca and Asenath. Rebecca's marriage to Isaac typifies the church being offered to Christ. Asenath's marriage to Joseph and her bearing sons in Egypt typifies the church being chosen out of the world unto God. Exodus speaks of Zipporah being married to Moses in the wilderness. This typifies the church in the wilderness. Joshua speaks of Achsah, who after being married, asked for the upper springs and the lower springs. This typifies the church receiving the inheritance. Ruth's marriage to Boaz typifies the redemption of the church. Abigail's marriage to David typifies the church enlisted as an army for warfare.

3) A bit more advanced .... (maybe helpful to the other gang here )

From Adam, the fallen one, to Noah, the one who worked together with God—from a fallen sinner to a saint working together with the Lord:

The fallen Adam wearing the skin of the sacrifice—a sinner receiving Christ as his covering righteousness—Gen. 3:21; Gal. 3:27; 1 Cor. 1:30.

Abel, the one inheriting salvation, offering up a lamb as a sacrifice—a believer living in Christ to become the righteousness of God, being acceptable to Him—Gen. 4:4; 2 Cor. 5:21.

Enosh, the frail one, calling on the name of Jehovah—a frail believer calling on the name of the Lord to enjoy Him as his portion—Gen. 4:26; Acts 9:14; 2 Tim. 2:22; 1 Cor. 1:2.

Enoch, the one pursuing after God, walking with God—a believer who pursues after the Lord living together with the Lord—Gen. 5:22-24; John 14:19b; Gal. 2:20.

Noah, the one walking with God, working with Him—a believer who lives together with the Lord working together with the Lord to work out his own salvation—Gen. 6:9b, 14, 18; Phil. 2:12b.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with Joseph—the threefold experience of a called believer in the Triune God, from his selection to his reigning:

As the father, Abraham being called by God and justified by faith, living by faith and living in fellowship with God—a believer experiencing the calling and justification of God the Father, by faith living a life of fellowshipping with Him—Gen. 12:1; 15:6; Heb. 11:9; Gen. 18:1, 17, 22-33; 1 Cor. 1:9; Rom. 8:30; Gal. 2:20b; 1 John 1:3, 6.

As the son, Isaac by faith inheriting all the promised blessings—a believer living in fellowship with God experiencing the inheritance of all the grace in God the Son for the enjoyment in satisfaction and rest—Gen. 25:5; Heb. 11:9; Eph. 3:6; Gal. 3:29.

As the one inheriting from his grandfather and his father, Jacob being chosen by God, experiencing trials to become the Israel of God, bringing God’s blessing to everyone—a believer chosen by God, enjoying the love of God the Father and the grace of God the Son, experiencing the transformation of God the Spirit through trials in his environment, to become a mature man to bestow God’s blessings upon others—Gen. 25:23; Rom. 9:10-13; Gen. 27:41-45; 31:1-2; 32:28; 47:7, 10; 48:9, 15-16, 20; 49:26, 28; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Cor. 15:58; Heb. 6:1; Rom. 12:14.

As the one who in experience forms a part of Jacob, Joseph reigning and dispensing widely the riches of God to everyone—a believer who is transformed, overcoming, and mature, reigning for the Lord and dispensing the riches of God in Christ to everyone—Gen. 41:40-44, 55-57; 2 Cor. 2:14-16; Eph. 3:8; Rev. 20:4, 6.

This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 7 2013, 11:30 AM

Hmmm .... are you guys discussing whether the OT saints are saved?

Eh? I don't think I follow you guys enough to comment. Then, forgive me, if I went outside of what is your arena of sharing. What is the purpose then to know whether OT saints are saved got to do with these 2 verses?

Also, Hebrews is never about the initial salvation. The writer of this epistle was not concerned with our salvation, for according to what he has written, it is eternally secure. The writer has made it quite clear that Christ has offered Himself to put away sin once for all (7:27; 9:26, 28) and that He has obtained for us an eternal salvation (5:9). Having entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, He has found for us an eternal redemption (9:12). The writer knew that our salvation was fully, thoroughly, and completely secure and that we have been saved forever. However, he was very concerned whether his readers would receive a great reward or suffer punishment depending on the maturity of life (or to a overcomer or to be deified).

Verse 40 says, “God having in view something better concerning us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” This verse implies a great deal. None of the witnesses of faith was ever perfected. They all need to be perfected by the believers of the new covenant. All the martyrs and witnesses of faith were under the old covenant of shadows; they were not in the reality. Since the new covenant dispensation of reality in which we are is better than the old covenant dispensation of shadows in which the witnesses of faith were, they need us for their perfection.

The people of God, who obtained a good testimony through their faith under the old covenant, however, did not obtain the
reality of the fulfillment of the promise, because a pattern of deification (maturity in life) had not yet been authored by Jesus Christ in the fullness of time (v. 10; Gal. 4:4). Nevertheless, when the fulfillment of the believers’ corporate inheritance in Christ is manifested in glory, those who bore the testimony of faith under the old covenant will be made perfect as part of God’s corporate expression and thereby obtain and inherit the promise of deification in reality (Heb.11:39).

So in a sense, Abraham, David, Solomon, and all the overcoming saints who have preceded us are watching over us like spectators at a football game. They are cheering us on and encouraging us to win the game. Their enjoyment of the reality depends upon us. This is the correct meaning of verse 40, which says that “apart from us they should not be made perfect.” As verse 39 indicates, the Old Testament saints did not obtain the promise because God had in view “something better concerning us.” They all are waiting for us. Even the Apostle Paul and all the New Testament martyrs are waiting for us. They, the foregoing overcomers, are waiting for the fullness of the overcomers. The number of overcomers has not yet been fulfilled. One day the fullness of that number will be reached. Thus, verse 40 was a very strong encouragement to all the staggering Hebrew believers to come forward and to fill up the gap in the number of overcomers.

This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 9 2013, 05:44 PM

Muhahahaha <evil grin>

Actually I didn't say whether the OT saints are saved or not .... I only mentioned that they are not perfected yet in time. Of course, that will imply that they are saved since being perfected requires a starting point ....





This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 11 2013, 01:41 PM

Maybe you might soon ...

Yes. FULL SALVATION.

Spirit = regenerated instantly when we believed genuinely
Soul = requires transformation during our whole Christian life after regeneration
Body = redemption of the body is also instantaneous

Yes, Hebrews 9:28 here means the redemption of our body and deliverance from the vanity and slavery of corruption of the old creation into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Rom. 8:18-23; Phil. 3:20-21). This is to be glorified (Rom. 8:17, 30).

But Hebrews is not so concerned with redemption of the our body, but more with our daily growth and transformation. Or suffer the loss of the reward.

Heh, well I definitely affirm the eternal security as it is according to the divine revelation in the Bible. On the one hand the I stand with the Calvinists on eternal security, but on the other hand, they are short of something because they have not seen Matthew 25:30. They have not seen that there could be some problem with a person after he is saved. They would wrongly say that this verse applies not to true believers, but to false believers.

On the other hand, the Arminian school does not believe in the eternal security of the believer. According to their teaching you may be saved in the morning and lost in the evening. Then after a few days you may be saved again. Their shortage was they did NOT see the matter of the reward according to how a believers applied the Lord's salvation in his or her daily life to fulfill God's purpose. The verses used are correct and in the Bible (lots in Hebrews) but wrongly applied to the eternal salvation.

Salvation

By grace (Eph. 2:8).
By faith (Luke 7:50).
Obtained in this age (John 5:24).
For sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).
Received by all believers (2 Tim. 1:9).

Reward

According to righteousness (2 Tim. 4:8).
According to works (Matt. 16:27) - not to be confused with effort of the flesh / law etc. (You will understand why James speaks on the other side of the coin on works of faith however mixed he is)...
Obtained in the future (Rev. 11:18).
For believers (Phil. 3:14).
Received only by the overcomers (Rev. 3:21).

This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 11 2013, 02:37 PM

Bro, if you consider the context of the verse in Matt 25, it was a parable for faithfulness (Matt 25:14-30).

Ok, then let me stay with you on it .... if our lack of faithfulness is due to the lack of faith, then it refers to our subjective faith . It has nothing to do with being a non-believer.

When we accept the word of God, it becomes both our objective faith and our subjective faith. Objective faith denotes the things we believe, and subjective faith refers to our action of believing. Through such a faith we are regenerated, born of God, and a relationship of life begins between us and God. Furthermore, through this kind of faith we are put into Christ. Formerly, we were outside of Christ. But now through faith we are in Christ.

In 1 Thes 1:3 Paul says, “Remembering unceasingly your work of faith, and labor of love, and endurance of hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.” In this verse Paul speaks of three matters: the work of faith, the labor of love, and the endurance of hope. The work of faith comes first. Faith comes through our acceptance of the word that is the embodiment of the Triune God. When we accepted this word, faith was produced within us. Because this faith is living and active, it results in the work of the faith.

The Greek word for work in verse 3 is ergon, a word usually rendered as work. Paul uses this word in Romans 3:20: “Because by the works of law no flesh shall be justified before Him.” In Romans 3:20 work mainly denotes our conduct, our behavior. Paul is saying that no fallen person can be justified before God by his conduct. Thus, in that verse work does not refer to an activity or a task that we do; it refers to particular deeds in our behavior. What, then, is the meaning of work in verse 3? Does it refer to deeds, or to some kind of task? Actually, in Greek this word denotes acts, actions, activities. It includes everything of our actions. Our actions involve deeds, conduct, and many other things as well. Therefore, the work of faith refers to all the acts, actions, of faith.

Suppose an evangelist preaches the gospel to an unbeliever. The unbeliever accepts the word, faith is produced in him, and through this faith he is born of God and put into Christ. Now that he has faith, certain actions are sure to follow. For example, he may spontaneously declare, “O Lord Jesus, You are so precious!” Then he may go home and speak to his wife and children about believing in the Lord Jesus. Both the declaration concerning the Lord and the preaching of the Lord are works of faith. Faith implies God, grace, power, light, and many other items. For this reason, when a new believer preaches Christ to his wife, the faith within him may enlighten him concerning his attitude toward her. Then he will confess his shortcomings to the Lord and apologize to his wife concerning certain matters. This also is a work of faith.

Those who have faith are very different from those who do not have faith. Before they had faith, some indulged in sinful things. Now that they have faith, they can no longer indulge in these things. Spontaneously, as an action, a work, of faith, they refrain from those things. Others before they were saved were not good neighbors. But after they were saved and came to have faith, they became very kind, gentle, loving, and considerate. No one taught them to be different. The change was produced by the faith within them. The faith caused them to be helpful to others, especially to other believers. This is another illustration of the work of the faith.

The work of faith denotes the proper actions of a genuine believer. It is not the performing of a certain task or the doing of certain good deeds to help others. No, it is our daily action as believers, the action that is a product of faith. This is Paul’s understanding of the work of faith. As he was praying for the Thessalonians, he remembered their action of faith.

===========================================
Ironically, you mention 1 John 4:18 about being perfected in His love.

1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God, and everyone who loves has been begotten of God and knows God.

The Greek word "perfected" means to complete, to accomplish, to finish. In God Himself the love of God itself is perfect and complete. However, in us it needs to be perfected and completed in its manifestation. It was manifested to us in God's sending of His Son to be both a propitiatory sacrifice and life to us (vv. 9-10). Yet if we do not love one another with this love as it was manifested to us, that is, if we do not express it by loving one another with the love with which God loved us, it is not manifested perfectly and completely. This love is perfected and completed in its manifestation when we express it in our living by habitually loving one another with it. Our living in which we love one another in the love of God is the perfection and completion of this love in its manifestation in us. Thus, in our living in God's love, others can behold God manifested in His essence, which is love.

Ah ya, you probably knows his answer .... oh depravity was derived from one of the church father, St Augustine of Hippo.

The three groups can be summaries as below (from perspective of grace quoted from somewhere ...)

Each of the three major perspectives on grace—Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant—have much to do with their respective views regarding the creation of humankind and its immediate fall. For all perspectives, grace helps humankind out of its predicament; grace is the answer to the fall of man. But because each perspective views the effects of the fall differently, each defines grace differently. The Orthodox view is at one extreme, the Protestant at the other, and the Catholic in between.

For the Orthodox, humankind is naturally endued with grace at creation, grace existing in human beings as the very image of God. The fall, though pervasive and disastrous, is not seen by the Orthodox as so extensive that human beings cannot choose and even act in accordance with God’s good pleasure. Human beings today are as free as the first pair and can equally turn toward or turn away from God, and it is necessary that the human will be exercised, for it is created and respected by God as free. But human will is not sufficient for salvation; the human being is not alone acceptable to God. Thus, grace comes to work “alongside” human beings and to fill up the lack inherent in them. Grace is God as a ready Aide for His own good pleasure.

At the other extreme is the classic Protestant Reformation view of a fall of humankind that is perhaps not completely obliterating but for all practical purposes incapacitating. The human being is now unable to choose God and His salvation because even the human will has been deadened and is now dysfunctional. The fallen human will cannot choose God, and what is more, the entire human being is poisoned by the effects of the fall. Now the “natural” function of the human being is to sin and to be an enemy of God. In answer to this wretched situation, God in Christ manifested His grace to humankind by dying for the sins of humanity. Those whom He has chosen for His salvation He draws unilaterally to Himself, strengthening their wills to believe that He accepts them based not on anything that they have done or can do but solely on the intense merit of Christ’s righteous person and His work at Calvary. Grace is God as the sole and external Agent who regards the fallen human being through the lenses of the very perfect Christ, who died for them.

Between these two extremes is the Catholic notion of an infused grace that comes to a humankind which, through the fall, lost its ability to attain salvation but not its freedom to choose God. It is an enabling grace that does not simply impute righteousness but rather empowers its willing recipients to produce works which manifest the quality of the faith within. Faith alongside these grace-energized works justifies the repenting sinner in this Catholic view. Grace is God as the cooperating, internal Agent, there to inwardly help the believers’ efforts to meet the demands of God for salvation.

There is a need of a synthesis for a higher definition of grace which transcend these differences. But unfortunately, not all are willing to look beyond these .... IMHO.

This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 13 2013, 10:04 AM

Haha yeah I saw that ...

Wonder if he use the materials from this book which I saw 10 years ago.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/057...6821828-5426336
published 1979...

I only read a little bit of it .... but I know he presented it so well ... probably updated for today's audience

This post has been edited by pehkay: Mar 13 2013, 11:45 AM

Well, I thought you were talking about the parable in Matt 25 and applied it to unbelievers, which is, the point , wrongly applied.

My bad.



Definitely, the slave are believers. He need to progress to function and exercise his/her gifts (talent). Well, they are the gospel, the truth, the believers, and the church.

We should not wait in an indifferent way for the Lord to give us something. No, we must diligently seek the gospel and the truth. We should be eager to know the fall of man, redemption, regeneration, full & complete salvation, the cleansing of the blood, and the washing of the Spirit etc.. All these are aspects of the full gospel. The more you receive of the gospel, the more talents you will have. We need to pray that the Lord would help us to know the truth and to experience it. We need to experience the truth concerning the church, God’s eternal purpose, and God’s economy. Eventually, these truths will become our talent. Then we shall be able to minister them to others. In this way, the Lord’s possessions become our talent.

If we buried our talent .... we will be punished ... unfaithful slaves :/