ADAM refers to the name of a man and a city in the Old Testament. The first man created by God on the sixth day of creation and placed in the Garden of Eden. He and his wife EVE, created by God from one of Adam's ribs and became the ancestors of all people now living on the earth. Adam was unique and distinct from the animals in several ways. His creation is described separately from that of the animals and the rest of God's creative acts. God breathed into Adam's body of 'dust', the divine breath of life; and man became a living being. God also made man in his own image and likeness. "Let Us make man in Our image according to Our likeness. - Gen. 1:3-27; 2:7,19-23; 3:8-9,17,20-21; 4:1,25; 5:1-5 -
God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden where he was to work the ground and take care of the animals. God made Eve as a helper comparable to Adam, creating her out of one of Adam's ribs so they were "one flesh". God told the human pair, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth". As a consequence they had a number of children; Cain, Abel, Seth and a number of others sons and daughters. Created in innocence they did not know sin. - Gen. 1:26-28; 2:5,15,19-25; 4:1-2; 5:3-4 -
Genesis chapter 3 tells how Adam failed to keep God's command.(Disobedience)
The New Testament emphasizes the oneness of Adam and Eve - Matt. 19:3-9 - showing that Adam represented man in bringing the human race into sin and death. In contrast, Christ, the new Adam represented His redeemed people in bringing justification and eternal life to them.
But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man. Just as all men die in Adam so all men will be brought to life in Christ; but all of them in their proper order; Christ as the first-fruit and then, after the coming of Christ those who belong to him. After that will come the end when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having done away with every sovereignty, authority and power. For he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet. - 1Cor. 15:20-26 - Rom. 5: 12-21 -
This also mean that God created man and woman with spiritual, rational, emotional and moral qualities.
You must give up your old way of life; you must put aside your old self which gets corrupted by following illusory desires. Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God's way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth. - Eph. 4:22-24, 25-32 -
That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life; fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; all this is the sort of behaviour that makes God angry. And it is the way in which you used to live when you were surrounded by people doing the same thing.............There is only Christ: He is everything and He is in everything. - Col. 3:5-11 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Christian love is not something merely to talk about but to do. Active love gives us confidence before God. A person must examine various spiritual manifestation to determine if they are of God; only those who confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh are of God. In His love God sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for sin. As a consequence we are to love one another.
The presence of Antichrists, who deny that Jesus is the Christ, is a sign of the end times. But true believers rest secure in the anointing of the Holy Spirit which they have from Christ. Since God is holy, believers are to be holy in their lives. When the Lord returns, His children will be like Him. Whoever abides in Christ does not continue to sin habitually or constantly.
To deepen the spiritual lives and while guarding against false teaching and prophets, test them, to see if they come from God. By emphasizing the divine nature of Jesus the false teachers and prophets appeared to be Christians and non-Christians; but they showed their true colours by denying that God became a true human in Jesus.(fully human and fully Divine) Claiming to have the Spirit of God, they were actually false prophets.
It is not every spirit, my dear people that you can trust;
test them, to see if they come from God;
there are many false prophets, now, in the world.
You can tell the spirits that come from God by this;
every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh
is from God;
but any spirit which will not say this of Jesus
is not from God,
but is the spirit of Antichrist,
whose coming you were warned about.
Well, now he is here, in the world.
Children,
you have already overcome these false prophets,
because you are from God and you have in you
one who is greater than anyone in this world;
as for them, they are of the world,
and so they speak the language of the world
and the world listens to them.
But we are children of God,
and those who know God listen to us;
those who are not of God refuse to listen to us.
This is how we can tell
the spirit of truth from the spirit of falsehood. - 1John 4:1-6 -
What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. - Gal. 5:22 -
These words seem simple on the surface. But in the hands of one who had pondered the mystery and meaning of Jesus' existence in human form, they yield many deep truths.
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
The presence of Antichrists, who deny that Jesus is the Christ, is a sign of the end times. But true believers rest secure in the anointing of the Holy Spirit which they have from Christ. Since God is holy, believers are to be holy in their lives. When the Lord returns, His children will be like Him. Whoever abides in Christ does not continue to sin habitually or constantly.
To deepen the spiritual lives and while guarding against false teaching and prophets, test them, to see if they come from God. By emphasizing the divine nature of Jesus the false teachers and prophets appeared to be Christians and non-Christians; but they showed their true colours by denying that God became a true human in Jesus.(fully human and fully Divine) Claiming to have the Spirit of God, they were actually false prophets.
It is not every spirit, my dear people that you can trust;
test them, to see if they come from God;
there are many false prophets, now, in the world.
You can tell the spirits that come from God by this;
every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh
is from God;
but any spirit which will not say this of Jesus
is not from God,
but is the spirit of Antichrist,
whose coming you were warned about.
Well, now he is here, in the world.
Children,
you have already overcome these false prophets,
because you are from God and you have in you
one who is greater than anyone in this world;
as for them, they are of the world,
and so they speak the language of the world
and the world listens to them.
But we are children of God,
and those who know God listen to us;
those who are not of God refuse to listen to us.
This is how we can tell
the spirit of truth from the spirit of falsehood. - 1John 4:1-6 -
What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. - Gal. 5:22 -
These words seem simple on the surface. But in the hands of one who had pondered the mystery and meaning of Jesus' existence in human form, they yield many deep truths.
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
When Jesus made His declaration before the high priest and His colleagues, He did so in response to the question: "Are You the Christ the Son of the Blessed?" - Mark 14:61 - He replied, "I am" - Mark 14:62 - 'The words are your own, answered Jesus, - Matt. 26:64 -
The Christ was the MESSIAH, the Son of David. Jesus belonged to the family of David. He was proclaimed as the Messiah of David's line both before His birth and after His resurrection but He was slow to make messianic claims. The reason for this is that the ideas associated with the Messiah in the minds of the Jewish people were quite different from the character and purpose of His ministry. Thus, He refused to give them any encouragement.
When at Caesarea, Philippi, Peter confessed Jesus to be the Messiah, Jesus directed him and his fellow disciples to tell no one that He was the Christ. After His death and resurrection, however, the concept of Messiah-ship among His followers was transformed by what He was and did. Then He could safely be proclaimed as Messiah, God's Anointed King, resurrected in glory to occupy the throne of the universe.
Jesus was acclaimed as the Son of God at His baptism. - Mark 1:11 - He was also given this title by the angel Gabriel at the annunciation: "That Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God". - Luke 1:35 - The Gospel of John especially makes it clear that the Father-Son relationship belongs to eternity-that the Son is supremely qualified to reveal the Father because He has His eternal being "in the bosom of the Father". - John 1:18 - At one level the title Son of God belonged officially to the Messiah who personified the nation of Israel. "Israel is My Son, My firstborn", said God to Pharaoh. - Ex. 4:22 - Of the promised prince of the house of David, God declared, "I will make him MY firstborn". - Ps. 89:27 -
As the Son of God in special sense, Jesus made Himself known to the apostle Paul on the Damascus Road. Paul said, "It pleased God...to reveal His son in me".
Then God who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother's womb called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans. I did not stop to discuss this with any human being nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were already apostles before me but I went off to Arabia at once and later went straight back from there to Damascus. - Gal. 1:15-17 - The proclamation of Jesus as the Son of God was central to Paul's preaching. - Acts 9:20; 2Cor. 1:19 -
When Jesus is presented as the Son of God in the New Testament: His eternal relation to God as His Father, and His perfect revelation of the Father to the human race and His person are emphasized.
Jesus' perfect revelation of the Father is also expressed when He is described as the Word (logos) of God. The Word is the self-expression of God; that self-expression has personal status, existing eternally with God. The Word by which God created the world and by which He spoke through the prophets "became flesh" in the fullness of time, living among men and women as Jesus of Nazareth. - John 1:1-18 -
Much that is said in the Old Testament about the Word of God is paralleled by what is said of the Wisdom of God: "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth". - Prov. 3:19 - In the New Testament Christ is portrayed as the personal Wisdom of God, the one through whom all things were created. - 1Cor. 1:24, 30; 8:6; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
The Christ was the MESSIAH, the Son of David. Jesus belonged to the family of David. He was proclaimed as the Messiah of David's line both before His birth and after His resurrection but He was slow to make messianic claims. The reason for this is that the ideas associated with the Messiah in the minds of the Jewish people were quite different from the character and purpose of His ministry. Thus, He refused to give them any encouragement.
When at Caesarea, Philippi, Peter confessed Jesus to be the Messiah, Jesus directed him and his fellow disciples to tell no one that He was the Christ. After His death and resurrection, however, the concept of Messiah-ship among His followers was transformed by what He was and did. Then He could safely be proclaimed as Messiah, God's Anointed King, resurrected in glory to occupy the throne of the universe.
Jesus was acclaimed as the Son of God at His baptism. - Mark 1:11 - He was also given this title by the angel Gabriel at the annunciation: "That Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God". - Luke 1:35 - The Gospel of John especially makes it clear that the Father-Son relationship belongs to eternity-that the Son is supremely qualified to reveal the Father because He has His eternal being "in the bosom of the Father". - John 1:18 - At one level the title Son of God belonged officially to the Messiah who personified the nation of Israel. "Israel is My Son, My firstborn", said God to Pharaoh. - Ex. 4:22 - Of the promised prince of the house of David, God declared, "I will make him MY firstborn". - Ps. 89:27 -
As the Son of God in special sense, Jesus made Himself known to the apostle Paul on the Damascus Road. Paul said, "It pleased God...to reveal His son in me".
Then God who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother's womb called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans. I did not stop to discuss this with any human being nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were already apostles before me but I went off to Arabia at once and later went straight back from there to Damascus. - Gal. 1:15-17 - The proclamation of Jesus as the Son of God was central to Paul's preaching. - Acts 9:20; 2Cor. 1:19 -
When Jesus is presented as the Son of God in the New Testament: His eternal relation to God as His Father, and His perfect revelation of the Father to the human race and His person are emphasized.
Jesus' perfect revelation of the Father is also expressed when He is described as the Word (logos) of God. The Word is the self-expression of God; that self-expression has personal status, existing eternally with God. The Word by which God created the world and by which He spoke through the prophets "became flesh" in the fullness of time, living among men and women as Jesus of Nazareth. - John 1:1-18 -
Much that is said in the Old Testament about the Word of God is paralleled by what is said of the Wisdom of God: "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth". - Prov. 3:19 - In the New Testament Christ is portrayed as the personal Wisdom of God, the one through whom all things were created. - 1Cor. 1:24, 30; 8:6; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Monday, September 27, 2010
The doctrine of the person of Christ or Christology, is one of the most important concerns of Christian theology. The various aspects of the person of Christ are best seen by reviewing the titles that are applied to Him in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. The title, Son of Man was Jesus' favorite way of referring to Himself. He may have done this because it was not a recognized title. This title means essentially "The Man". But as Jesus used it, it took on new significance.
Firstly, He used the title in a general way almost as a substitute for the pronoun "I". A good example of this usage occurred in the saying where Jesus contrasted John the Baptist who came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, with the Son of Man who "has come eating and drinking". - Luke 7:33-34 - Another probable example is the statement that "the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head". - Luke 9:58 - Jesus used the title to emphasize that "the Son of Man must suffer". - Mark 8:31 - It is implies that His suffering was foretold by the true prophets. It was indeed "written concerning the Son of Man that He is to suffer grievously and be treated with contempt". - Mark 9:12 - So when Jesus announced the presence of the betrayer at the Last Supper, He declared, "Yes, the Son of Man is going to his fate, as scriptures say he will just as it is written of Him". - Mark 14:21 - Later on the same evening Jesus submitted to his captors with the words, "The Scriptures must be fulfilled". - Mark 14:49 -
Finally, Jesus used the title Son of Man to refer to himself as the one exercised exceptional authority, that is, authority delegated to Him by God. "The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" - Mark 2:10 - Jesus declared, he exercised this authority in a way that made some people criticize him for acting with the authority of God: "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath". - Mark 2:28 -
The Son of Man appeared to speak and act in these cases as the representative man. If God had given man dominion over all the works of His hands then He who was the Son of Man in this special representative sense was in a position to exercise that dominion. Near the end of his ministry, Jesus spoke of his authority as the Son of Man at the end of time. Men and women "will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory: Jesus declared. - Mark 13:26 - Jesus also stated to the high priest and the other members of the supreme court of Israel: "You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven". Mark 14:62 -
In the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, Jesus referred to as the Son of Man by anyone other than himself. This occurred when Stephen, condemned by the Jewish Sanhedrin, saw "the Son of man standing at the right hand of God". Acts 7:56 - "'I can see heaven thrown open' Stephen said 'and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God".
I tell you if anyone openly declares himself for me in the presence of men the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the presence of God's angels. But the man who disowns me in the presence of men will be disowned in the presence of God's angels. - Luke 12:8-9 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Bread played an important role in Israel's worship. During the celebration of PENTECOST, two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah...of fine flour...baked with leaven were offered with the animal sacrifices. - Lev. 23:17 - A type of ritualistic bread known as SHOW-BREAD consisted of 12 loaves baked without leaven by the Levites and placed weekly in the tabernacle and later in the Temple. - Ex. 25:30 - When removed at the end of the week the loaves were eaten by the priests.
When fleeing from bondage in Egypt the Israelites made unleavened bread or bread without yeast. - Ex. 12:8; 13:6-7 - For that reason the EXODUS was remembered annually by eating unleavened bread for a period of seven days. - Lev. 23:6 - This celebration is called "the Days of Unleavened Bread".
In the New Testament, Satan tempted Jesus by saying, "If You are Son of God, command that these stones become bread". But Jesus replied, "Scripture says, Man does not live on bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God". - Matt. 4:3-4 - In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught his disciples to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread". - Matt. 6:11 -
In the Gospel of John, Jesus called Himself, "the true bread from heaven" "the bread of God" "the bread of life" and "the bread which came down from heaven".
Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave then bread from heaven to eat. Jesus answered:
I tell you most solemnly,
it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven,
it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven,
the true bread;
for the bread of God
is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.
'Sir,' they said 'give us that bread always'. Jesus answered:
I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
he who believes in me never thirst. - John 6:31-35 -
The Old Testament background for these references is the MANNA that fell miraculously from heaven to sustain God's people during the Exodus. (Exodus chapter 16) In the New Testament, on the night before His crucifixion, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper.
I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna in the desert
and they are dead;
but this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that a man may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I shall give
is my flesh, for the life of the world.
Then the Jews started arguing with one another: 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' they said, Jesus replied:
I tell you most solemnly,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood,
you will not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood
has eternal life,
and I shall raise him up on the last day.
For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me
and I live in him.
As I, who am sent by the living Father,
myself draw life from the Father,
so whoever eats me will draw life from me.
This is the bread come down from heaven;
not like the bread our ancestors ate;
they are dead
but anyone who eats this bread will live forever. - John 6:48-58 - Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19-20 -
Securing bread 'without money and without price' is finding that free gift of God that not only satisfies spiritual needs but also bestows abundant life. - Is. 55:1 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
When fleeing from bondage in Egypt the Israelites made unleavened bread or bread without yeast. - Ex. 12:8; 13:6-7 - For that reason the EXODUS was remembered annually by eating unleavened bread for a period of seven days. - Lev. 23:6 - This celebration is called "the Days of Unleavened Bread".
In the New Testament, Satan tempted Jesus by saying, "If You are Son of God, command that these stones become bread". But Jesus replied, "Scripture says, Man does not live on bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God". - Matt. 4:3-4 - In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught his disciples to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread". - Matt. 6:11 -
In the Gospel of John, Jesus called Himself, "the true bread from heaven" "the bread of God" "the bread of life" and "the bread which came down from heaven".
Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave then bread from heaven to eat. Jesus answered:
I tell you most solemnly,
it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven,
it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven,
the true bread;
for the bread of God
is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.
'Sir,' they said 'give us that bread always'. Jesus answered:
I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
he who believes in me never thirst. - John 6:31-35 -
The Old Testament background for these references is the MANNA that fell miraculously from heaven to sustain God's people during the Exodus. (Exodus chapter 16) In the New Testament, on the night before His crucifixion, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper.
I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna in the desert
and they are dead;
but this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that a man may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I shall give
is my flesh, for the life of the world.
Then the Jews started arguing with one another: 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' they said, Jesus replied:
I tell you most solemnly,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood,
you will not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood
has eternal life,
and I shall raise him up on the last day.
For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me
and I live in him.
As I, who am sent by the living Father,
myself draw life from the Father,
so whoever eats me will draw life from me.
This is the bread come down from heaven;
not like the bread our ancestors ate;
they are dead
but anyone who eats this bread will live forever. - John 6:48-58 - Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19-20 -
Securing bread 'without money and without price' is finding that free gift of God that not only satisfies spiritual needs but also bestows abundant life. - Is. 55:1 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Saturday, September 25, 2010
An example of the common sense principle is illustrated when the Lord Jesus says Christians can have anything for which they ask.
If you remain in me
and my words remain in you,
you may ask what you will
and you shall get it. - John 15:7 -
Common sense tells us that there must be some limitation on this statement because we realize that Christians in fact do not have whatever they would like, provided it is in accordance with God's will.
We are quite confident that if we ask him for anything,
and it is in accordance with his will,
he will hear us:
and, knowing that whatever we may ask, he hears us,
we know that we have already been granted what we asked of him. - 1John 5:14-15 -
In fact, using the common sense principle in this way can be dangerous because it could become an excuse for cutting out any portion of Scripture we do not happen to like and want to hear or listen. But if our common sense is gifted with God's grace and controlled by God, it is a valid principle of interpreting the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible.
The primary rule of biblical/scripture interpretation is "context". This cannot be emphasized too strongly. If the reader would merely let a passage speak for itself within the context of the paragraph, chapter, or books, the majority of all errors in interpretation would be avoided.
The problem is our bias or our subjectivity. Many times we approach a passage thinking we already understand it. In the process we read our own meaning into the passage. This is called 'eisegesis'.(Eis is a Greek preposition meaning "into") Therefore, interpreting the Scripture/Bible correctly demands that we listen to what the text itself is saying and then draw the meaning out of the passage. This is called 'exegesis'.(Ex is a Greek preposition meaning "out of")
If we let a passage be defined by what it and the surrounding verses say then we have taken a large step toward interpreting the Scripture/Bible properly.( meaning as a WHOLE ) Only by watching the context carefully and by letting the passage speak for itself do we give Scripture the respect it deserves.
Of Course, it is impossible to dismiss totally our own bias and subjectivity. Our interpretation will always be coloured by our culture and our opinions about the passage or perhaps by our theological beliefs which are partially based on the passage. But this should not discourage our attempt to let the passage speak for itself as freely as possible without being weighed down with our personal opinions and views.
Observation, Interpretation, Evaluation and Application are the heart of all approaches to finding out what the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible means.
In the meantime, brothers and sisters, we wish you happiness; try to grow perfect; help one another. Be united; live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you. - 2Cor. 13:11 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
If you remain in me
and my words remain in you,
you may ask what you will
and you shall get it. - John 15:7 -
Common sense tells us that there must be some limitation on this statement because we realize that Christians in fact do not have whatever they would like, provided it is in accordance with God's will.
We are quite confident that if we ask him for anything,
and it is in accordance with his will,
he will hear us:
and, knowing that whatever we may ask, he hears us,
we know that we have already been granted what we asked of him. - 1John 5:14-15 -
In fact, using the common sense principle in this way can be dangerous because it could become an excuse for cutting out any portion of Scripture we do not happen to like and want to hear or listen. But if our common sense is gifted with God's grace and controlled by God, it is a valid principle of interpreting the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible.
The primary rule of biblical/scripture interpretation is "context". This cannot be emphasized too strongly. If the reader would merely let a passage speak for itself within the context of the paragraph, chapter, or books, the majority of all errors in interpretation would be avoided.
The problem is our bias or our subjectivity. Many times we approach a passage thinking we already understand it. In the process we read our own meaning into the passage. This is called 'eisegesis'.(Eis is a Greek preposition meaning "into") Therefore, interpreting the Scripture/Bible correctly demands that we listen to what the text itself is saying and then draw the meaning out of the passage. This is called 'exegesis'.(Ex is a Greek preposition meaning "out of")
If we let a passage be defined by what it and the surrounding verses say then we have taken a large step toward interpreting the Scripture/Bible properly.( meaning as a WHOLE ) Only by watching the context carefully and by letting the passage speak for itself do we give Scripture the respect it deserves.
Of Course, it is impossible to dismiss totally our own bias and subjectivity. Our interpretation will always be coloured by our culture and our opinions about the passage or perhaps by our theological beliefs which are partially based on the passage. But this should not discourage our attempt to let the passage speak for itself as freely as possible without being weighed down with our personal opinions and views.
Observation, Interpretation, Evaluation and Application are the heart of all approaches to finding out what the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible means.
In the meantime, brothers and sisters, we wish you happiness; try to grow perfect; help one another. Be united; live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you. - 2Cor. 13:11 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Friday, September 24, 2010
Early Christians continued to accept the Old Testament as authoritative and they could interpret the Old Testament in the light of Jesus' deeds and words if they had a reliable record of them. So, alongside Moses and the prophets, they had these early writings about Jesus and letters from the apostles who had known Jesus in the flesh and Divine. This refers to Oral and Written Tradition.
When they sought to make a list of books about the Lord Jesus Christ and the early Church which they considered authoritative, they retained the Old Testament on the authority of Jesus and His apostles. Along with these books they recognised as authoritative the writings of the new age - four gospels or biographies on the life and ministry of Jesus; the 13 letters of Paul; and letters of other apostles and their companions. The gospel collection and the apostolic collection were joined together by the Book of 'The Acts Of The Apostles' which served as a sequel to the gospel story as well as a narrative background for the earlier epistles.
The primary standard applied to a book was that it must be written either by an apostle or by someone close to the apostles. This guaranteed that their writing about Jesus and the early Church would have the authenticity of an eyewitness account. As in the earliest phase of the Church existence, 'the apostles' doctrine' was the basis of its life and thought. The apostolic writings formed the charter or foundation documents of the Church.
THE EARLY CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
These remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and to prayers. The many miracles and signs worked through the apostles made a deep impression on everyone. The faithful all lived together and owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and shared out the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed.
They went as a body to the Temple everyday but met in their houses for the breaking of bread: they shared their food gladly and generously; they praised God and were looked up to by everyone. Day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved. - Acts 2:42-47 -
Behind the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is a thrilling story of how God revealed Himself and His will to human spokesmen and then acted throughout history to preserve His Word and pass it along to future generations.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of Yahweh blows on them
(The grass is without doubt the people)
The grass withers, the flower fades
but the word of our God remains forever. - Isaiah 40:7-8 -
I tell solemnly, before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away. - Matt. 24:34-35 -
In the beginning was the Word;
the Word was with God
and the Word was God. - John 1:1 -
Something which has existed since the beginning,
that we have heard,
and we have seen with our own eyes;
that we have watched
and touched with our hands;
the Word, who is life-
this is our subject. - 1John 1:1 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
When they sought to make a list of books about the Lord Jesus Christ and the early Church which they considered authoritative, they retained the Old Testament on the authority of Jesus and His apostles. Along with these books they recognised as authoritative the writings of the new age - four gospels or biographies on the life and ministry of Jesus; the 13 letters of Paul; and letters of other apostles and their companions. The gospel collection and the apostolic collection were joined together by the Book of 'The Acts Of The Apostles' which served as a sequel to the gospel story as well as a narrative background for the earlier epistles.
The primary standard applied to a book was that it must be written either by an apostle or by someone close to the apostles. This guaranteed that their writing about Jesus and the early Church would have the authenticity of an eyewitness account. As in the earliest phase of the Church existence, 'the apostles' doctrine' was the basis of its life and thought. The apostolic writings formed the charter or foundation documents of the Church.
THE EARLY CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
These remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and to prayers. The many miracles and signs worked through the apostles made a deep impression on everyone. The faithful all lived together and owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and shared out the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed.
They went as a body to the Temple everyday but met in their houses for the breaking of bread: they shared their food gladly and generously; they praised God and were looked up to by everyone. Day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved. - Acts 2:42-47 -
Behind the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is a thrilling story of how God revealed Himself and His will to human spokesmen and then acted throughout history to preserve His Word and pass it along to future generations.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of Yahweh blows on them
(The grass is without doubt the people)
The grass withers, the flower fades
but the word of our God remains forever. - Isaiah 40:7-8 -
I tell solemnly, before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away. - Matt. 24:34-35 -
In the beginning was the Word;
the Word was with God
and the Word was God. - John 1:1 -
Something which has existed since the beginning,
that we have heard,
and we have seen with our own eyes;
that we have watched
and touched with our hands;
the Word, who is life-
this is our subject. - 1John 1:1 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Shepherd is a person who takes care of sheep. Figuratively, the Old Testament pictures God as Israel's Shepherd-Leader. - Ps. 80:1; Ezek. 34:14 -
In the Old Testament Abel is the first shepherd mentioned in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. - Gen. 4:2 - Kings who led Israel and certain ministers are also called shepherds. The sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob herded sheep. Rachel was a shepherdess. King David, Moses and Amos found herding to be excellent preparation for future leadership roles. - Jer. 6:3, 23:4, 49:19; Gen. 13:7, 26:20, 29:3, 30:36; 2Sam. 5:2; Ps. 78:70-72; Ex. 3:1; Amos 1:1 -
The New Testament reveals Jesus as the Good Shepherd who gave His life for His sheep. When He said, "I am the good shepherd" - John 10:11 - Jesus life exemplifies these leadership traits. Jesus knows each of His sheep intimately.
The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock he goes ahead of them and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him; they do not recognise the voice of strangers. - John 10:3-5 -
Even in a large flock, one individual sheep will run to his shepherd when his own name is called. A trusted shepherd also provides loving protection for his flock.
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice;
I know them and they follow me. - John 10:27 -
The presence of the shepherd also offers comfort to the flock. King David recognised this in Psalms 23. Sheep are content merely to be in the same field with their shepherd; Christians are comforted by the very presence of the Lord. This thought is especially comforting when darkness overshadows the believer. Jesus is our Door; nothing can touch our life without touching Him first. That is a perfect picture of the shepherd. He literally becomes the living door of the sheepfold. He curls up in the door or in the entrance of a cave. He puts his body between the sleeping sheep and ravenous animals or thieves.
One day Jesus the Chief shepherd will return and gather His whole flock into one fold, and divide the sheep and the goats. Until that time Jesus continues His search for every lost sheep. His sheep are to yield themselves to Him for His useful service until at last they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
When the Son of Man comes in his glory escorted by all the angels then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men from another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right hand, "Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. - Matt. 25:31-34 -; Matt. 18:12-14; Psalms 23:6 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
In the Old Testament Abel is the first shepherd mentioned in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. - Gen. 4:2 - Kings who led Israel and certain ministers are also called shepherds. The sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob herded sheep. Rachel was a shepherdess. King David, Moses and Amos found herding to be excellent preparation for future leadership roles. - Jer. 6:3, 23:4, 49:19; Gen. 13:7, 26:20, 29:3, 30:36; 2Sam. 5:2; Ps. 78:70-72; Ex. 3:1; Amos 1:1 -
The New Testament reveals Jesus as the Good Shepherd who gave His life for His sheep. When He said, "I am the good shepherd" - John 10:11 - Jesus life exemplifies these leadership traits. Jesus knows each of His sheep intimately.
The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock he goes ahead of them and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him; they do not recognise the voice of strangers. - John 10:3-5 -
Even in a large flock, one individual sheep will run to his shepherd when his own name is called. A trusted shepherd also provides loving protection for his flock.
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice;
I know them and they follow me. - John 10:27 -
The presence of the shepherd also offers comfort to the flock. King David recognised this in Psalms 23. Sheep are content merely to be in the same field with their shepherd; Christians are comforted by the very presence of the Lord. This thought is especially comforting when darkness overshadows the believer. Jesus is our Door; nothing can touch our life without touching Him first. That is a perfect picture of the shepherd. He literally becomes the living door of the sheepfold. He curls up in the door or in the entrance of a cave. He puts his body between the sleeping sheep and ravenous animals or thieves.
One day Jesus the Chief shepherd will return and gather His whole flock into one fold, and divide the sheep and the goats. Until that time Jesus continues His search for every lost sheep. His sheep are to yield themselves to Him for His useful service until at last they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
When the Son of Man comes in his glory escorted by all the angels then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men from another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right hand, "Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. - Matt. 25:31-34 -; Matt. 18:12-14; Psalms 23:6 -
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Persecution refers to the hatred and affliction that follows the witness and holy life of God's people in a hostile world. The concept is stressed in many of the Old Testament prophetic books.
The New Testament also teaches that God's people will suffer persecution. The Lord Jesus Christ taught that God's prophets always faced persecution, so His disciples should expect the same. - Matt. 5:11-12; 10:23 -
While this applied primarily to Jesus by the early Christians the persecution of His disciples and followers was seen as a participation in Jesus' suffering: filling up "what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ"
It makes me happy to suffer for you as I am suffering now and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. - Col. 1:24 -
The idea of the coming Messiah held that the suffering of God's people was part of the coming of the kingdom - evidence that a person is truly one of God's own. Therefore they are "blessed" and should "rejoice" and "glorify God" since the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God.- Matt. 5:10 -
If you have some share in the sufferings of Christ be glad because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you. None of you should ever deserve to suffer for being a murderer, a thief, a criminal or an informer; but if anyone of you should suffer for being a Christian then he is not to be ashamed of it; he should thank God that he has been called one. The time has come for the judgment to begin at the household of God; and if what we know now is only the beginning what will it be when it comes down to those who refuse to believe God's Good News? If it is hard for a good man to be saved what will happen to the wicked and to sinners? So even those whom God allows to suffer must trust themselves to the constancy of the creator and go on doing good. - 1Pet. 4:13-19 -
Jewish opposition to Christianity arose primarily among the Sadducees and Pharisee. - Acts 4:1; 5: 17 - The first persecution came because Stephen spoke out about the inadequacy of the land of Israel and the Temple for salvation. This intensified when the apostle Paul began to proclaim the salvation of the Gentiles through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Roman opposition to Christianity also developed gradually. The Book of Acts emphasized Roman tolerance for the new religion. But this began to change with the Jewish riots against Christians in Rome resulting in the Emperor Claudius banning both groups from Rome in A.D. 49. This set the stage for the intense opposition of later years that allowed Nero to make Christians the scapegoats for the fire which leveled Rome in A.D. 64. During this persecution the apostles Paul and Peter were martyred.
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
The New Testament also teaches that God's people will suffer persecution. The Lord Jesus Christ taught that God's prophets always faced persecution, so His disciples should expect the same. - Matt. 5:11-12; 10:23 -
While this applied primarily to Jesus by the early Christians the persecution of His disciples and followers was seen as a participation in Jesus' suffering: filling up "what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ"
It makes me happy to suffer for you as I am suffering now and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. - Col. 1:24 -
The idea of the coming Messiah held that the suffering of God's people was part of the coming of the kingdom - evidence that a person is truly one of God's own. Therefore they are "blessed" and should "rejoice" and "glorify God" since the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God.- Matt. 5:10 -
If you have some share in the sufferings of Christ be glad because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you. None of you should ever deserve to suffer for being a murderer, a thief, a criminal or an informer; but if anyone of you should suffer for being a Christian then he is not to be ashamed of it; he should thank God that he has been called one. The time has come for the judgment to begin at the household of God; and if what we know now is only the beginning what will it be when it comes down to those who refuse to believe God's Good News? If it is hard for a good man to be saved what will happen to the wicked and to sinners? So even those whom God allows to suffer must trust themselves to the constancy of the creator and go on doing good. - 1Pet. 4:13-19 -
Jewish opposition to Christianity arose primarily among the Sadducees and Pharisee. - Acts 4:1; 5: 17 - The first persecution came because Stephen spoke out about the inadequacy of the land of Israel and the Temple for salvation. This intensified when the apostle Paul began to proclaim the salvation of the Gentiles through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Roman opposition to Christianity also developed gradually. The Book of Acts emphasized Roman tolerance for the new religion. But this began to change with the Jewish riots against Christians in Rome resulting in the Emperor Claudius banning both groups from Rome in A.D. 49. This set the stage for the intense opposition of later years that allowed Nero to make Christians the scapegoats for the fire which leveled Rome in A.D. 64. During this persecution the apostles Paul and Peter were martyred.
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Monday, September 20, 2010
Many think they would have believed in Him if they had lived in His day. But actually there would have been no great advantage. Those who do not see Him as Divine living in His Mystical Body today would not have seen Him as Divine living in His physical Body. If there are scandals in some cells of His Mystical Body there were scandals too in His physical Body; both put forward a human appearance which in moments of weakness or Crucifixion require moral strength to see Divinity.
In the Galilean days it required faith supported by motives of credibility to believe in the Kingdom He came to establish or His Mystical Body through which He would sanctify men through His Spirit after His Crucifixion. In these days it requires faith supported by the same motives of credibility to believe in the Head or the Invisible Christ, governing, teaching and sanctifying through His visible head and His Body the Church. In each case a "lifting up" was required. To redeem men, Our Lord told Nicodemus that He had to be "lifted up" on the Cross to sanctify men in the Spirit, He had to be "lifted up" to heaven in the Ascension.
Christ, therefore, still walks the earth now in His Mystical Body here as then in His physical Body. The Gospel was the prehistory of the Church, as the Church is the post history of the Gospel. He still is denied inns, as He was in Bethlehem; new Herod with Soviet and Chinese names persecute Him with the sword; other Satan appear to tempt Him to short cuts of popularity away from the Cross and mortification; Palm Sundays of great triumph come to Him but they are preludes to Good Fridays; new charges (and often from religious people. as of old) are hurled against Him - that He is an enemy of Caesar, is unpatriotic and would pervert a nation; on the outside He is stoned, on the inside attacked by false brethren; not even Judases who were called to be Apostles are wanting to betray Him and deliver Him over to the enemy; some of His disciples who gloried in His name walk with Him no more because-like their predecessors-they find His teaching particularly on the Bread of Life, to be "hard".
But since there is never a death without a Resurrection, His Mystical Body will in the course of history have a thousand deaths and a thousand Resurrections. The bells will always be tolling for His execution but the execution will be everlastingly postponed. Some final day, in His Mystical Body there will come a universal persecution when He will go to His death as He did before, "suffering under Pontius Pilate", suffering under the omnipotent power of the State. But in the end all that was foretold of Abraham and Jerusalem will come to pass in its spiritual perfection when He will be glorified in His Mystical Body as He was glorified in His physical Body. As John the Apostle described it:
Come and I will show you the bride the wife of the Lamb. So in the Spirit he carried me away to a great high mountain and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God; it had the radiance of some priceless jewel like a jasper clear as crystal. It had a great high wall with twelve gates at which were twelve angels; and on the gates were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
There were three gates to the east, three to the north and three to the west........ I saw no temple in the city; for its temple was the sovereign Lord God and the Lamb. And the city had no need of sun or moon to shine upon it; for the glory of God give it light and its lamp was the Lamb. By its light shall the nations walk and the kings of the earth shall bring into it all their splendour. the gates of the city shall never be shut by day - and there will be no night...He who gives this testimony speaks: Yes, I am coming soon! Amen, Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. - Rev. 21:9-14,22-26, 22:20-21 -
BY ARCHBISHOP FULTON J. SHEEN (1895 to 1979)
Page 3
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
In the Galilean days it required faith supported by motives of credibility to believe in the Kingdom He came to establish or His Mystical Body through which He would sanctify men through His Spirit after His Crucifixion. In these days it requires faith supported by the same motives of credibility to believe in the Head or the Invisible Christ, governing, teaching and sanctifying through His visible head and His Body the Church. In each case a "lifting up" was required. To redeem men, Our Lord told Nicodemus that He had to be "lifted up" on the Cross to sanctify men in the Spirit, He had to be "lifted up" to heaven in the Ascension.
Christ, therefore, still walks the earth now in His Mystical Body here as then in His physical Body. The Gospel was the prehistory of the Church, as the Church is the post history of the Gospel. He still is denied inns, as He was in Bethlehem; new Herod with Soviet and Chinese names persecute Him with the sword; other Satan appear to tempt Him to short cuts of popularity away from the Cross and mortification; Palm Sundays of great triumph come to Him but they are preludes to Good Fridays; new charges (and often from religious people. as of old) are hurled against Him - that He is an enemy of Caesar, is unpatriotic and would pervert a nation; on the outside He is stoned, on the inside attacked by false brethren; not even Judases who were called to be Apostles are wanting to betray Him and deliver Him over to the enemy; some of His disciples who gloried in His name walk with Him no more because-like their predecessors-they find His teaching particularly on the Bread of Life, to be "hard".
But since there is never a death without a Resurrection, His Mystical Body will in the course of history have a thousand deaths and a thousand Resurrections. The bells will always be tolling for His execution but the execution will be everlastingly postponed. Some final day, in His Mystical Body there will come a universal persecution when He will go to His death as He did before, "suffering under Pontius Pilate", suffering under the omnipotent power of the State. But in the end all that was foretold of Abraham and Jerusalem will come to pass in its spiritual perfection when He will be glorified in His Mystical Body as He was glorified in His physical Body. As John the Apostle described it:
Come and I will show you the bride the wife of the Lamb. So in the Spirit he carried me away to a great high mountain and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God; it had the radiance of some priceless jewel like a jasper clear as crystal. It had a great high wall with twelve gates at which were twelve angels; and on the gates were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
There were three gates to the east, three to the north and three to the west........ I saw no temple in the city; for its temple was the sovereign Lord God and the Lamb. And the city had no need of sun or moon to shine upon it; for the glory of God give it light and its lamp was the Lamb. By its light shall the nations walk and the kings of the earth shall bring into it all their splendour. the gates of the city shall never be shut by day - and there will be no night...He who gives this testimony speaks: Yes, I am coming soon! Amen, Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. - Rev. 21:9-14,22-26, 22:20-21 -
BY ARCHBISHOP FULTON J. SHEEN (1895 to 1979)
Page 3
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Sunday, September 19, 2010
The Mystical Body is Christ's prolonged Self. Saint Paul came to understand this truth. Perhaps no one has ever lived who hated Christ more than Saul.[Saint Paul] The early members of Christ's Mystical Body prayed that God would send someone to refute Saul. God heard their prayer; He sent Paul to answer Saul. One day this persecutor breathing hatred set out for Damascus to seize the members of Christ's Mystical Body there and bring them back to Jerusalem. The time was only a few years after the Ascension of Our Divine Saviour and Our Lord was now glorified in Heaven. Suddenly a great light shone about Saul and he fell to the ground. Aroused by a Voice like a bursting sea he heard:
Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? - Acts 9:4 -
Nothingness dared to ask the name of Omnipotence:
Tell me, Lord, who are you?
And the Voice answered:
I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. - Acts 9:5 -
How could Saul be persecuting Our Lord Who was glorified in Heaven? Why should the Voice from Heaven say: "Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute Me?"
If someone stepped on the foot would not the head complain because it is part of the body? Our Lord was now saying that in striking His Body, Paul was striking Him. When the Body of Christ was persecuted it was Christ the Invisible Head Who arose to speak and to protest. The Mystical Body of Christ, therefore, no more stands between Christ and an individual than His physical Body stood between Magdalen and His forgiveness or His hand stood between the little children and His blessing. It was through His human Body that He came to men in His individual life; it is through His Mystical Body or His Church that He comes to men in His mystical corporate life.
Christ is living now! He is teaching now, governing now, sanctifying now - as He did in Judea and Galilee. His Mystical Body or the Church existed throughout the Roman Empire before a single one of the Gospels had been written. It was the New Testament that came out of the Church, not the Church which came out of the New Testament. This Body had the four distinctive marks of life; it had unity because vivified by one Soul, one Spirit, the gift of Pentecost. As unity in doctrine and authority is the centripetal force which keeps the life of the Church one, catholicity is the centrifugal force which enables her to expand and absorb redeemed humanity without distinction of race or colour.
The third note of the Church is holiness which means that it endures on condition that it keep itself healthy, pure and free from the disease of heresy and schism. This holiness is not in each member but rather in the whole Church. And because the Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church it can be the Divine instrument for the sanctification of souls. The sunlight is not polluted because its rays pass through a dirty window; neither do the sacraments lose their power to sanctify because the human instruments of those sacraments may be stained.
Finally there is the work of apostolic. In biology, Omne vivum ex vivo or "All life comes from life". So too the Mystical Body of Christ is apostolic because historically it took its roots in Christ and not from a man separated by centuries from Him. That is why the infant Church met to choose a successor of Judas who had to be a witness of the Resurrection and a companion of the Apostles.
One of those who bore us company all the while we had the Lord Jesus with us coming and going from John's ministry of baptism until the day when he was taken up from us - one of those must now join us as witness to his resurrection. - Acts 1:21-22 -
Thus the Christ Who "emptied" Himself in the Incarnation now had His "fullness" on Pentecost. The kenosis or humiliation is one facet of His Being; the pleroma or His continued life in His Bride, Spouse, Mystical Body or Church is the other. As the emptying of the light and heat of the sun cries out for the filling of the earth with its radiant energy so the downward course of His love finds its completion in what Saint Paul calls His "fullness" - the Church.
Many think they would have believed in Him if they had...................
Page 2
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? - Acts 9:4 -
Nothingness dared to ask the name of Omnipotence:
Tell me, Lord, who are you?
And the Voice answered:
I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. - Acts 9:5 -
How could Saul be persecuting Our Lord Who was glorified in Heaven? Why should the Voice from Heaven say: "Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute Me?"
If someone stepped on the foot would not the head complain because it is part of the body? Our Lord was now saying that in striking His Body, Paul was striking Him. When the Body of Christ was persecuted it was Christ the Invisible Head Who arose to speak and to protest. The Mystical Body of Christ, therefore, no more stands between Christ and an individual than His physical Body stood between Magdalen and His forgiveness or His hand stood between the little children and His blessing. It was through His human Body that He came to men in His individual life; it is through His Mystical Body or His Church that He comes to men in His mystical corporate life.
Christ is living now! He is teaching now, governing now, sanctifying now - as He did in Judea and Galilee. His Mystical Body or the Church existed throughout the Roman Empire before a single one of the Gospels had been written. It was the New Testament that came out of the Church, not the Church which came out of the New Testament. This Body had the four distinctive marks of life; it had unity because vivified by one Soul, one Spirit, the gift of Pentecost. As unity in doctrine and authority is the centripetal force which keeps the life of the Church one, catholicity is the centrifugal force which enables her to expand and absorb redeemed humanity without distinction of race or colour.
The third note of the Church is holiness which means that it endures on condition that it keep itself healthy, pure and free from the disease of heresy and schism. This holiness is not in each member but rather in the whole Church. And because the Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church it can be the Divine instrument for the sanctification of souls. The sunlight is not polluted because its rays pass through a dirty window; neither do the sacraments lose their power to sanctify because the human instruments of those sacraments may be stained.
Finally there is the work of apostolic. In biology, Omne vivum ex vivo or "All life comes from life". So too the Mystical Body of Christ is apostolic because historically it took its roots in Christ and not from a man separated by centuries from Him. That is why the infant Church met to choose a successor of Judas who had to be a witness of the Resurrection and a companion of the Apostles.
One of those who bore us company all the while we had the Lord Jesus with us coming and going from John's ministry of baptism until the day when he was taken up from us - one of those must now join us as witness to his resurrection. - Acts 1:21-22 -
Thus the Christ Who "emptied" Himself in the Incarnation now had His "fullness" on Pentecost. The kenosis or humiliation is one facet of His Being; the pleroma or His continued life in His Bride, Spouse, Mystical Body or Church is the other. As the emptying of the light and heat of the sun cries out for the filling of the earth with its radiant energy so the downward course of His love finds its completion in what Saint Paul calls His "fullness" - the Church.
Many think they would have believed in Him if they had...................
Page 2
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Ten days after the Ascension the Apostles were gathered together awaiting the Spirit Who would teach them and reveal to them all that Our Blessed Lord had taught them. During His public life He told them that He would take on a new Body. It would not be physical like the one He took from Mary. That Body is now glorified at the right hand of the Father. Nor would it be a moral body like a social club which derives its unity from the will of men. Rather, it would be His new social Body that would be bound to Him by His Heavenly Spirit which He would send on leaving this earth. He spoke of His new Body sometimes as a Kingdom though Saint Paul would speak of it as a Body which the Gentiles could understand more readily. He told the Apostles the nature of this new Body. It would assume seven main features:
1. He told them that to be a member of His new Body men would have to be born into it. But it would not be through a human birth for that made sons of Adam; to be a member of His new Body one would have to be reborn through the Spirit in the waters of baptism which would make adopted sons of God.
2. The unity between this new Body and Him would not be through singing hymns to Him nor having social teas in His name nor listening to broadcasts but through sharing His life:
Dwell in me as I in you...I am the vine and you the branches. - John 15:5 -
3. His new Body would be like all living things small at first - even as He said, "like a mustard seed" but it will grow from simplicity to complexity until the consummation of the world. As He put it:
First the blade then the ear then full grown corn in the ear. - Mark 4:28 -
4. A house expands from the outside in by the addition of bricks to brick; t human organisations grow by the addition of man to man i.e. from the circumference to the center. His Body, He said, would be formed from the inside out as a living embryo is formed in the human body. As He received life from the Father the faithful would receive life from Him. As He put it:
May they all be one: as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee so also may they be in us. - John 17:21 -
5. Our Lord said that He would have only one Body. It would be a spiritual monstrosity for Him to have many bodies or a dozen heads. To keep it one it would have one shepherd whom He appointed to feed His lambs and His sheep.
There will then be one flock, one shepherd. - John 10:16 -
6. He said that His new Body would not manifest itself before men until the day of Pentecost when he would send His truth giving Spirit.
If I do not go, your Advocate will not come. - John 16:7 -
Anything that would start, therefore, even twenty-four hours after Pentecost or twenty-four hours ago would be an organisation; it might have the human spirit but it would not have the Divine Spirit.
7. The most interesting observation He made about His Body was that it would be hated by the world as He was. Anything worldly the world loves. But what is Divine, the world hates.
Because I have chosen you out of the world for that reason the world hates you. - John 15:20 -
The nucleus of this new Mystical Body was His Apostles. they were to be the raw material into which He would send His Spirit to quicken them into His prolonged Self. They would represent Him when He was gone. The privilege of evangelizing the world was reserved to them. This new Body of which they were the embryo was to be His posthumous Self and His prolonged Personality through the centuries.
Until Our Lord sent His Spirit on them fifty days after His Resurrection the Apostles were like the elements in a chemical laboratory. Science knows up to 100% the chemicals which enter into the constitution of a human body; but it cannot make a human being because of its inability to provide the unifying principle, the soul. The Apostles could not give the Church Divine life anymore than chemicals could make human life. they needed God's invisible Divine Spirit to unify their visible human natures.
Accordingly, ten days after the Ascension the glorified Saviour in Heaven sent upon them His Spirit not in the form of a book but as tongues of living fire. As cells in a body form a new human life when God breathes a soul into the embryo so the Apostles appeared as the visible Body of Christ when the Holy Spirit came to make them one. This Mystical Body or the Church is called in tradition and Scripture the "whole Christ" or "the fullness of Christ".
The new Body of Christ then appeared publicly before men. Just as the Son of God took upon Himself a human nature from the womb of Mary, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit so on Pentecost He took a Mystical Body from the womb of humanity, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. Just as He once taught, governed and sanctified through His human nature so now He would continue to teach, to govern and to sanctify through other human natures united in His Body or Church.
Because this Body is not physical like a man nor moral like a bridge club but heavenly and spiritual because of the Spirit which made up of millions and millions of cells and yet is one because vivified by one soul, presided over by one visible head and governed by an invisible mind so this Body of Christ though made up millions and millions of persons who are incorporated into Christ by baptism is one because vivified by the Holy Spirit of God and presided over by one visible head and governed by one invisible Mind or Head Who is the Risen Christ.
The Mystical Body is Christ's prolonged Self..............
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
1. He told them that to be a member of His new Body men would have to be born into it. But it would not be through a human birth for that made sons of Adam; to be a member of His new Body one would have to be reborn through the Spirit in the waters of baptism which would make adopted sons of God.
2. The unity between this new Body and Him would not be through singing hymns to Him nor having social teas in His name nor listening to broadcasts but through sharing His life:
Dwell in me as I in you...I am the vine and you the branches. - John 15:5 -
3. His new Body would be like all living things small at first - even as He said, "like a mustard seed" but it will grow from simplicity to complexity until the consummation of the world. As He put it:
First the blade then the ear then full grown corn in the ear. - Mark 4:28 -
4. A house expands from the outside in by the addition of bricks to brick; t human organisations grow by the addition of man to man i.e. from the circumference to the center. His Body, He said, would be formed from the inside out as a living embryo is formed in the human body. As He received life from the Father the faithful would receive life from Him. As He put it:
May they all be one: as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee so also may they be in us. - John 17:21 -
5. Our Lord said that He would have only one Body. It would be a spiritual monstrosity for Him to have many bodies or a dozen heads. To keep it one it would have one shepherd whom He appointed to feed His lambs and His sheep.
There will then be one flock, one shepherd. - John 10:16 -
6. He said that His new Body would not manifest itself before men until the day of Pentecost when he would send His truth giving Spirit.
If I do not go, your Advocate will not come. - John 16:7 -
Anything that would start, therefore, even twenty-four hours after Pentecost or twenty-four hours ago would be an organisation; it might have the human spirit but it would not have the Divine Spirit.
7. The most interesting observation He made about His Body was that it would be hated by the world as He was. Anything worldly the world loves. But what is Divine, the world hates.
Because I have chosen you out of the world for that reason the world hates you. - John 15:20 -
The nucleus of this new Mystical Body was His Apostles. they were to be the raw material into which He would send His Spirit to quicken them into His prolonged Self. They would represent Him when He was gone. The privilege of evangelizing the world was reserved to them. This new Body of which they were the embryo was to be His posthumous Self and His prolonged Personality through the centuries.
Until Our Lord sent His Spirit on them fifty days after His Resurrection the Apostles were like the elements in a chemical laboratory. Science knows up to 100% the chemicals which enter into the constitution of a human body; but it cannot make a human being because of its inability to provide the unifying principle, the soul. The Apostles could not give the Church Divine life anymore than chemicals could make human life. they needed God's invisible Divine Spirit to unify their visible human natures.
Accordingly, ten days after the Ascension the glorified Saviour in Heaven sent upon them His Spirit not in the form of a book but as tongues of living fire. As cells in a body form a new human life when God breathes a soul into the embryo so the Apostles appeared as the visible Body of Christ when the Holy Spirit came to make them one. This Mystical Body or the Church is called in tradition and Scripture the "whole Christ" or "the fullness of Christ".
The new Body of Christ then appeared publicly before men. Just as the Son of God took upon Himself a human nature from the womb of Mary, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit so on Pentecost He took a Mystical Body from the womb of humanity, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. Just as He once taught, governed and sanctified through His human nature so now He would continue to teach, to govern and to sanctify through other human natures united in His Body or Church.
Because this Body is not physical like a man nor moral like a bridge club but heavenly and spiritual because of the Spirit which made up of millions and millions of cells and yet is one because vivified by one soul, presided over by one visible head and governed by an invisible mind so this Body of Christ though made up millions and millions of persons who are incorporated into Christ by baptism is one because vivified by the Holy Spirit of God and presided over by one visible head and governed by one invisible Mind or Head Who is the Risen Christ.
The Mystical Body is Christ's prolonged Self..............
Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Friday, September 17, 2010
Then the Exodus from Egypt began with the whole company under Moses being directed away from the northern road leading from Egypt to Gaza in Canaan. From Rameses, probably near Qantir, they moved to Succoth perhaps, the ancient Tell el Maskhuta situated in the Wadi Tumilat in the southeastern region of the Nile delta.
Then the Hebrews camped at Etham on the edge of the Wilderness of Shur - Ex. 13:20 - at a site still unknown but probably north of Lake Timsah close to the fortifications guarding Egypt's northeastern frontier. They were directed by a PILLAR OF CLOUD during the day. At night they were guided by a PILLAR OF FIRE which led them away from Etham probably in a northwesterly direction to a site opposite Baal Zephon and Pi Hahiroth.
At this site a body of water stood in the way. - Ex. 14:2 - To the Egyptians this spelled the doom of a group of runaway slaves that had become thoroughly confused about their location as they struggled to get out of the Goshen area. This misunderstanding was part of God's plan to destroy the Egyptian armies. - Ex. 14:3-4 - They closed in on the Israelites camp, eager to recapture their escaped slaves. While the Hebrews assembled and rushed to the edge of the water the pillar of cloud moved to the rear of the fleeing Hebrews preventing the movement of the Egyptian armies.
A strong east wind from the desert began to blow on the surface of the water which is also described more fully as a "reed sea" - Ex. 15:22 - or lake of papyrus reeds. English versions of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible mistakenly translated the phrase as "Red Sea" but this name describes a large oceanic gulf far to the southeast in which papyrus reeds do not grow. The concentrated hot winds parted the shallow marsh waters and dried the bottom so the Israelites could flee across it.
As the Egyptians followed the winds stopped and the waters drowned the pursuers. The miracles of the Exodus were thus completed by the destruction of the Egyptian armies. The jubilant Israelites sang a victory song with Moses to celebrate the event. - Ex. 15:1-18 - The women led by Miriam the sister of Aaron also danced and sang - Ex. 15:20-22 - as they praised God for His deliverance.
Then the Israelites began to journey into the WILDERNESS OF SHUR - Ex. 15:22 - known in the book of Numbers 33:8 - as the WILDERNESS OF ETHAM. They had traveled in a circular manner except that now they were east of the body of water. Being free from the threat of capture they traveled east and south into the Sinai peninsula in order to meet with God at Mount Sinai (Horeb). Here they would establish a COVENANT that would make them God's chosen nation. Etham contained very little water but after God enabled Moses to locate a supply the Hebrews arrived at an oasis named Elim.
The Exodus became for the Hebrews the supreme occasion when God acted to deliver His people from harsh captivity binding them to Himself by a solemn covenant. Even today when the Jews celebrate the Passover they are reminded of God's mighty deliverance in that long time ago.
Page 2
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
Then the Hebrews camped at Etham on the edge of the Wilderness of Shur - Ex. 13:20 - at a site still unknown but probably north of Lake Timsah close to the fortifications guarding Egypt's northeastern frontier. They were directed by a PILLAR OF CLOUD during the day. At night they were guided by a PILLAR OF FIRE which led them away from Etham probably in a northwesterly direction to a site opposite Baal Zephon and Pi Hahiroth.
At this site a body of water stood in the way. - Ex. 14:2 - To the Egyptians this spelled the doom of a group of runaway slaves that had become thoroughly confused about their location as they struggled to get out of the Goshen area. This misunderstanding was part of God's plan to destroy the Egyptian armies. - Ex. 14:3-4 - They closed in on the Israelites camp, eager to recapture their escaped slaves. While the Hebrews assembled and rushed to the edge of the water the pillar of cloud moved to the rear of the fleeing Hebrews preventing the movement of the Egyptian armies.
A strong east wind from the desert began to blow on the surface of the water which is also described more fully as a "reed sea" - Ex. 15:22 - or lake of papyrus reeds. English versions of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible mistakenly translated the phrase as "Red Sea" but this name describes a large oceanic gulf far to the southeast in which papyrus reeds do not grow. The concentrated hot winds parted the shallow marsh waters and dried the bottom so the Israelites could flee across it.
As the Egyptians followed the winds stopped and the waters drowned the pursuers. The miracles of the Exodus were thus completed by the destruction of the Egyptian armies. The jubilant Israelites sang a victory song with Moses to celebrate the event. - Ex. 15:1-18 - The women led by Miriam the sister of Aaron also danced and sang - Ex. 15:20-22 - as they praised God for His deliverance.
Then the Israelites began to journey into the WILDERNESS OF SHUR - Ex. 15:22 - known in the book of Numbers 33:8 - as the WILDERNESS OF ETHAM. They had traveled in a circular manner except that now they were east of the body of water. Being free from the threat of capture they traveled east and south into the Sinai peninsula in order to meet with God at Mount Sinai (Horeb). Here they would establish a COVENANT that would make them God's chosen nation. Etham contained very little water but after God enabled Moses to locate a supply the Hebrews arrived at an oasis named Elim.
The Exodus became for the Hebrews the supreme occasion when God acted to deliver His people from harsh captivity binding them to Himself by a solemn covenant. Even today when the Jews celebrate the Passover they are reminded of God's mighty deliverance in that long time ago.
Page 2
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.
By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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