I never stop thanking God for all the graces you have received through the Lord Jesus Christ. The witness to Christ Jesus has indeed been strong among you. But, unfortunately, not all who sought identification with the Christian Church proclaimed; of the Lord Jesus Christ resurrection.

Some preached a spiritual awakening or resurrection that was already past. Such a view and understanding adopted by Hymenaeus and Philetus and adopted by later Gnostic heretics. Gnosticism refers to a system of false teachings that existed during the early centuries of Christianity. Its name came from the Greek word for knowledge, gnosis. The Gnostic believed that only human knowledge was the way to salvation. Thus, it was sternly condemned by Apostle Paul or Saint Paul.

Remind them of this; and tell them in the name of God that there is to be no wrangling about words: all that this ever achieves is the destruction of those who are listening. Do all you can to present yourself in front of God as a person who has come through His trails, and a person who has no cause to be ashamed of His life's work and has kept a straight course with the message of the truth.

Have nothing to do with pointless philosophical discussions - they only lead further and further away from true religion. Talk of this kind corrodes like gangrene, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus, the men who have gone right away from the truth and claim that the resurrection has already taken place. Some people's faith cannot stand up to them.

However, God's solid foundation stone is still in position, and this is the inscription on it: 'The Lord knows those who are His own' and 'All who call on the name of the Lord must avoid sin.'

Not all the dishes in a large house are made of gold and silver; some are made of wood or earthenware: some are kept for special occasions and others are for ordinary purposes. Now, to avoid these faults that I am speaking about is the way for anyone to become a vessel for special occasions, fit for the Master Himself to use, and kept for any good work.

Instead of giving in to your impulses like a young person, fasten your attention on holiness, faith, love and peace, in union with all those who call on the Lord with pure minds. Avoid these futile and silly speculations, understanding that they only give rise to quarrels; and a servant of the Lord is not to engage in quarrels, but has to be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and patient.

He/She has to be gentle when he/she corrects people who dispute what he/she says, never forgetting that God may give them a change of mind so that they recognise the truth and come to their senses, once out of the trap where the devil caught them and kept them enslaved. - 2 Tim. 2:14-26 -

Resurrection Of Jesus Christ is a central doctrine of Christianity that affirms that God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day. The resurrection is the point at which God's intention for Jesus becomes clear. So significant is the resurrection of Jesus that without it, there would be no Church or Christianity, and we would still be in our sins.

This news is about the Son of God who, according to the human nature he took, was descendant of David: it is about Jesus Christ our Lord who, in the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that was in him, was proclaimed Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead.

Through the Lord Jesus Christ we received grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith to all unbelievers and pagan nations in honour of His name. You are one of these nations, and by His call belong to Jesus Christ. - Rom. 1:3-6 -

In spite of the centrality of the 'Resurrection' however, scholars, unbelievers and among them, the Jews and Israelites have frequently debated a number of elements in the 'Resurrection Of Jesus Christ' accounts in the New Testament. Even until today, they argue that because apostle Paul does not speak of an empty tomb, the idea of the resurrection of Jesus must have developed years after His earthly life and ministry was over. But apostle Paul did refers to the suffering of Jesus and burial which argues both for a proper tomb and against the body being dumped into a pit or a common criminal grave.

In order to comprehend explicitly. The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible had foretold, and in the Old Testament, the Book of Wisdom and the Book of Isaiah tell us and proclaimed:

'Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us
and opposes our way of life,
reproaches us for our breaches of law
and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing.
He claims to have knowledge of God,
and call himself a son of the Lord.

Before us he stands, a reproof to our way of thinking,
the very sight of him weighs our spirits down;
his way of life is not like other men,
the paths he treads are unfamiliar.
In his opinion we are counterfeit;
he holds aloof from our doings as though from filth;
he proclaims the final end of the virtuous as happy
and boasts of having God for his father.

Let us see if what he says is true,
let us observe what kind of end he himself will have.
If the the virtuous man is God's son, God will take his part,
and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies.

Let us test him with cruelty and with torture,
and thus explore this gentleness of his
and put his endurance to the proof.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death
since he will be looked after-we have his word for it. - Wisdom 2:12-20 -

We had all gone astray like sheep,
each taking his own way,
and Yahweh burden him
with the sins of all of us.
Harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly,
he never opened his mouth,
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter house,
like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers
never opening its mouth.

By force and by law he was taken;
would anyone plead his cause?
Yes, he was torn away from the land of the living;
for our faults struck down in death.
They gave him a grave with the wicked,
a tomb with the rich,
though he had done no wrong
and there had been no perjury in his mouth.

Yahweh has been pleased to crush him with suffering.
If he offers his life in atonement,
he shall see his heirs, he shall have a long life
and through him what Yahweh wishes will be done.

His soul's anguish over
he shall see the light and be content.
By his sufferings shall my servant justify many,
taking their faults on himself.

Hence, I will grant whole hordes for his tribute,
he shall divide the spoil with the mighty,
for surrendering himself to death
and letting himself be taken for a sinner,
while he was bearing the faults of many
and praying all the time for sinners. - Is. 53:6-12 -

In the New Testament: Jesus was arrested when he was still speaking when Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared, with him a large number of men armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders of the people........... The men who had arrested Jesus led him, off to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assemble... The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus, however false, on which they might pass the death sentence.........

When Judas found that Jesus had been condemned, Judas his betrayer was filled with remorse and took the thirty silver pieces back to the chief priests and elders.......... The words of the prophet Jeremiah were then fulfilled: And they took the thirty silver pieces, the sum at which the precious One was priced by the children of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field, just as the Lord directed me. 

Jesus, then, was brought before the governor, and the governor put to him this question, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' .......Now as Pilate was seated in the chair of judgment, his wife sent him a message, 'Have nothing to do with that man; I have been upset all day by a dream I had about him.' ...Pilate said to them 'what am I to do with Jesus who is called Christ?' They all said, 'Let him be crucified.'.......

Then Jesus is crowned with thorns. They stripped him and made him wear a scarlet cloak, and make fun of him they knelt to Jesus saying, 'Hail, king of the Jews!' And they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head with it....... When they had finished crucifying him they shared out his clothing by casting lots.. Above his head was placed the charge against him; it reads: 'This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.' And the crucified Jesus Christ is mocked by the scribes and elders....

From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, my God, why have you deserted me?'... But Jesus, again crying out in a loud voice, yielded up his spirit.

At that, the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth quaked; the rocks were split; the tombs opened and the bodies of many holy men rose from the dead, and these, after his resurrection, came out of the tombs, entered the Holy City and appeared to a number of people. Meanwhile, the centurion, together with the others guarding Jesus, had seen the earthquake and all that was taking place, and they were terrified and said, 'In truth this was a son of God.'

And many women were there, watching from a distance, the same women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and looked after him. Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

When it was evening, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, called Joseph who had himself become disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate thereupon ordered it to be handed over. So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean shroud and put it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a large stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. Now Mary of Magdala and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulchre.

Next day, that is, when Preparation Day was over, the chief priests and the Pharisees went in a body to Pilate and said to him, 'Your Excellency, we recall that this impostor said, while he was still alive, "After three days I shall rise again." Therefore, give the order to have the sepulchre kept secure until the third day, for fear his disciples come and steal him away and tell the people, "Jesus has risen from the dead." This last piece of fraud would be worse than what went before.'

'You may have your guard.' said Pilate to them. 'Go and make all as secure as you know how.' So they went and made the sepulchre secure, putting seals on the stone and mounting a guard.

After the Sabbath, and towards dawn on the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala, and the other Mary went to visit the sepulchre. And all at once there was a violent earthquake, for the angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. His face was like lightning, his robe white as snow.

The guards were so shaken, so frightened of him, that they were like dead men. But the angel spoke; and he said to the women, 'There is no need for you to be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for Jesus has risen, as he said he would. Come and see the place where Jesus lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples, "Jesus has risen from the dead and now he is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see Jesus." Now I have told you.' Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.

And there, coming to meet them, was Jesus. 'Greetings.' he said. And the women came up to him and, falling down before Jesus, clasped his feet. Then, Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.'

While they were on their way, some of the guards went off into the city to tell the chief priests all that had happened. These held a meeting with the elders and, after some discussion, handed a considerable sum of money to the soldiers with these instructions.

'This is what you must say, "Jesus's disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep." And should the governor come to hear of this, we undertake to put things right with him ourselves and to see that you do not get into trouble.' The soldiers took the money and carried out their instructions, and to this day that is the story among the Jews. (Israelites/Hebrews)

Meanwhile, the eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw Jesus they fell down before him, through some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. Jesus said:

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.' - Matt. 26:47-75, 27:1-66, 28:1-20 -

Indeed, Jesus did died on the Cross for our sins, in other words, crucified and mocked by the Roman, on the insistence and demand of the Jews and Israelites. Crucifixion of Jesus Christ was the method of torture and execution used by the Romans to put Christ Jesus to death.

Crucifixion was used by many nations of the ancient world. Alexander the Great of Greece crucified 2,000 inhabitants of Tyre when he captured the city. The Romans later adopted this method and used it often throughout their empire. Crucifixion was the Romans' most severe form of execution; so it was reserved only for slaves and criminals. No Roman citizen could be crucified.

The God's inspired authors of the Gospel in the New Testament tell us that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of the 'Cross' before His death as a symbol of the necessity of full commitment, even unto death, for those who could be His apostles, prophets, believers, and disciples. But the major significance of the cross after Jesus' death and resurrection is its use as a symbol of Jesus' willingness to suffer for our sins, so that we might be reconciled to God and know Him.

The 'Crucifix' and the 'Cross' then, is a symbol of Jesus' love, God's power to save, and to those who know the salvation which the Lord Jesus Christ gained for us through His Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension. Amen!

What the New Testament tell us of the resurrection of Jesus Christ was they are bearing witness not what God did for them but what God did to Jesus. Certainly, as a result of the resurrection of Jesus human lives, were transformed. For apostle Paul this transformation of Christians is not termed resurrection but 'salvation.' "In Christ Jesus" is the expression which apostle Paul uses for the spiritual experience of the living Christ Jesus.

The Lord Jesus Christ.......

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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. 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 -