Response to Reader’s Comment – Are All People Children of God??? (Part 2 of 3)

May 29, 2015June 2, 2015buildafoundation Leave a comment

Thank you very much KaraLee for the thought-provoking comment on the post Are All People Children of God??? (Part 2). See post and comment at http://wp.me/p5nZpi-pI.

Before I respond to KaraLee’s comment, I like to offer a brief description qualifying my study and explanation of Scripture.

I understand all Scripture to be…

inspired by God, All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. – 2 Timothy 3:16
written by human authors
written within a historical setting

Therefore, applying exegesis (critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of Scripture) in my opinion, requires understanding the usage of language in sentences and paragraphs, examining verses/words/sentences within their context, and seeking to understand the passages within their cultural setting.

KaraLee had so many great comments that I’d like to address them individually. KaraLee’s comments will be highlighted in orange, my responses will be in black.

Thanks for the food for thought! I thought of a lot of stuff- hope it makes sense!

I personally believe that our Heavenly Father literally created our spirits before we came to live on this earth and that our mortal parents are the facilities that house our eternal spirits (Hebrews 12:9).

Hebrews 12:9 – Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?

If we look at the context of Hebrews 12:9, see the passage, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+12:1-12, we’ll notice that this passage is not addressing pre-birth spiritual existence of people.

2. The writer of Hebrews is addressing discipline in this passage. He is referencing the similarity between a human father’s discipline and God’s discipline, as an expression of love.

3. You’ll even notice that the word discipline is used 10 times within these 12 verses.

4. God is described as the Father of our Spirits in v.12:9, but no where in this verse, other verses in the Bible, or within the context of this passage, was I able to find support that God created people’s spirits before they were born.

5. The only passage referring to pre-birth, and God, can be found in Psalm 139:13-16,

13You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
¹⁵You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
¹⁶You saw me before I was born.

The entire passage can be found – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+139

Which is why I think our Father in Heaven is so invested in our return to Him.

I wouldn’t want to lose any of my children.

Along with this statement is the assumption that you are your children’s mother. Your children are children of KaraLee. But the Scriptures say that we are not automatically children of God. We are created by God. And it’s not until we, as individuals, believe Him and accept Him, that He gave the right to become children of God. – John 1:12

I do think all are children of God.

Here’s how the Scriptures define a child of God –

To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. – John 1:12

An opportunity, a right, not an automatic or a given that ALL people are children of God.

In this next passage, Jesus says that not all people’s father is God.

Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! For you are the children of your father the devil… ” – John 8:42-44

Whether people accept or recognize Him doesn’t mean He forgets them.

I agree with this statement, but it has nothing to do with a person’s status in “God’s family”. Rather, it reminds us of the Biblical fact that God is love – 1 John 4:8, and that it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones (anyone – my add) should perish. – Matthew 18:14

Scripture confirms that…

God gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. – Matt. 5:45
God is being patient for our sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. – 2 Peter 3:9
Jesus also is clear that ALL people will not recognize Him as Lord. In John 10, Jesus uses the parable of the sheep and the gate, saying… I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. – John 10:9,14,26-28
And in Matt 7:22-23 Jesus says, On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name. But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.

I wouldn’t disown my child if they decided to go against me. I do think that people can be called ” a child of God” in a deeper sense if they are His disciples or followers.

It’s not so much a matter of “in a deeper sense”, but it is the only way to be considered a “child of God”. And that is, if you are His follower. You are either a child of God, or you’re not.

But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. – John 1:12

And Jesus says in Matthew 7:21 – Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.

As far as the scriptures referring to “adoption” I feel like it is a matter of semantics.

I disagree with this comment. The word adoption holds much more weight than it is given credit for. It has a specific meaning. According to Webster Dictionary’s definition, semantics means that words have the same effect. There’s no real difference.

However, the word adopt is defined in Dictionary.com – to take and rear (the child of other parents) as one’s own child, specifically by a formal legal act.

The child of other parents, is a BIG distinction that makes God’s use of the word adoption in the Scriptures significant, and certainly not a matter of semantics.

I will be getting into adoption more in the next post.

We are already his literal creation, but we have to work at coming unto Him or being His “Chosen” people or ” people who choose God”.

This comment seems to me to be an oxymoron.

On the one hand, we’re God’s creation, which I agree with – For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created through Him and for Him. – Colossians 1:16

Yet, on the other hand, we have to work at being His “Chosen” people. So if ALL people are children of God, as your children are children of KaraLee, do we/them have to earn our parent’s love? Earn our place as a son or daughter in the family?

I don’t believe we have to work at being “chosen” by God. God wants us all to be part of His family. ALL people have been given a choice, freewill, to accept God’s provision to be reunited with Him. And, Because of His grace declared righteous, having confidence that we will inherit eternal life. – Titus 3:7

That provision was His Son, Jesus, who became an acceptable sacrifice, for ALL the sins of ALL people. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. – 1 Peter 1:19

For God loved the world so much that He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

This is what differentiates Christ-followers from all other religions or spiritual groups. God came to us. God pursues US. We don’t have to “do” to get God to notice us, and choose us.

Ephesians 2:8 – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Because Adam and Eve’s left the Garden of Eden, they also left being so close to the presence of God.

Adam and Eve didn’t leave the Garden on their own accord. God banished them from the Garden, Genesis 3:24.

Their choice to disobey God, to sin, by eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, made it impossible for them to be in presence of a Holy God.

So in a sense we all have all been separated from our Father in heaven and need to gain knowledge of good and evil and follow or adopt Heavenly Father’s good ways.( Isaiah 56:3-8); (genesis 3:22-24)

Yes, ALL people have been separated from God.

…For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. – Romans 5:15

And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. – Romans 5:16

Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 5:18-21

It’s not a matter of gaining knowledge. It is a matter of repenting of our evil ways, turning to God, and following His ways vs. the world’s ways. Only then can we come back into God’s Holy Presence.

Thank you again, KaraLee, for your comments 🙂

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Are ALL People Children of God??? – (Part 1) http://wp.me/p5nZpi-pm

Are ALL People Children of God??? – (Part 2) http://wp.me/p5nZpi-pI

Are ALL People Children of God??? – (Part 3 of 3) http://wp.me/p5nZpi-rg

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The Return of the Nephilim – Dun, Dun, Dun, Dun… – NUMBERS 13 – (Part 2 of 2)

March 27, 2015March 27, 2015buildafoundation 8 Comments

In Part 1 – The Return of the Nephilim – Dun, Dun, Dun, Dun… – http://wp.me/p5nZpi-iT – we were left with the following question:

WHY DID THE SCOUTS REFER TO THE PEOPLE THEY SAW IN CANAAN AS NEPHILIM?

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THE SCOUTING REPORT FROM THE 12 SPIES EXPLORING CANAAN:
They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. BUT the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

BUT the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” – Numbers 13:26-33

A “BAD REPORT” – AN EXAGGERATION OF THE TRUTH?

At first reading, the above scouting report may seem like a factual account, but when looking closely we can see that part of the report was false. “There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim)… – Number 13:33

For significance of this claim read answer to question – WERE THESE THE SAME NEPHILIM WE READ ABOUT IN GENESIS 6? – http://wp.me/p5nZpi-iT

Reminds me of Eve’s response to the serpent’s question – “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” – Genesis 3:1, to which Eve replied, “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” – Genesis 3:1-3

“You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, (NOT TOUCH IT AS EVE SAID – emphasis mine), you are sure to die.” – Genesis 2:16-17

A subtle “untruth”, but still an untruth.

THE RESULT OF THE SCOUTS “BAD REPORT” –

So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a BAD REPORT about it— these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord. Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived. – Numbers 14:36-38

Of the 12 scouts, only Joshua and Caleb, trusting God, were allowed to enter and take possession of the land. The other 10 scouts through fear, and a false report, were killed. But, unfortunately, not before ensuing panic through the entire nation.

IN CONCLUSION:

The Nephilim mentioned in Numbers 13:33 were not the Pre-Flood Nephilim of Genesis 6:4. Nephilim was simply a term the fearful scouts used to describe the powerful-looking people they saw in Canaan. I would compare it to people now-a-days saying, “I was shaking in my boots”. We know that does not mean I was literally shaking, or that I was literally wearing boots. However, it does paint a clear mental image that I was very afraid.

Choose your words wisely. Words are powerful. Words paint images in our minds. Words can kill or nourish life. – Proverbs 18:21

Selected information adapted from: http://creation.com/the-return-of-the-nephilim

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Female Angels?? Giants?? – Replying to a Reader’s Comment – ANGELS [6]

March 9, 2015March 25, 2015buildafoundation 2 Comments

…When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” – Mark 19:25-26

In this post I will be replying to a comment made on my post Names and Roles of Angels (Part 2). Original post link – http://wp.me/p5nZpi-gA

I’m replying as a post rather that replying directly to the comment on the initial post, for 2 reasons:

The question/comment posted was very challenging and thought-provoking. It was something I hadn’t thought of, and I would like to learn more about.
I wanted my readers to know that there is a section below every post where you can leave comments, suggestions, questions, etc. All are welcome!! 🙂

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Here is the reader’s comment/question:

There is no mention of female angels anywhere in Scripture. Jesus said, “…in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Mt. 22:30). Do you think the absence of females in heaven was one reason the sons of God married the daughters of men, giving birth to the ancient giants called the ‘Nephilim’?

Gen 6:4 “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days … when the sons of God were having sexual relations with the daughters of humankind, who gave birth to their children. They were the mighty heroes of old, the famous men.”

If this is true, then it is possible for angels to sin. But most theologians say that the angels who did not fall with Satan are sealed by God and cannot sin. What do you think?

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The word angel appears over 175 times in the New Testament and over 200 times in the Old Testament. And you are correct, that there is no mention of female angels anywhere in Scripture.

The Greek word for “angel” in the New Testament, angelos, (messenger) is in the masculine noun form. In the Old Testament, the word used for angel (messenger) is malak. It is also used in the masculine noun form. In fact, a feminine form of angelos or malak does not exist in the Bible.

I believe it would be impossible for angels to reproduce with people because it goes against the physical laws God established in “the beginning”, at creation. God said that species would reproduce after their own kind, Genesis:1:11-12, 21-25). Angels are one “kind”, and people are another kind.

I DON’T THINK THAT THE ABSENCE OF FEMALES IN HEAVEN HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE SONS OF GOD MARRYING THE DAUGHTERS OF MEN, AND HERE’S WHY:

It would seem more likely to me that the “sons of God” referenced in Genesis 6:1 were the descendents of Seth, who worshiped God – Genesis 4:26, and intermarried with Cain’s descendents, those who did not worship God. It is assumed that Cain had no post-Flood descendants. All his descendents were destroyed in the Flood, and that Noah and his sons were descendants of Adam’s son Seth.

Because of these “unequally yoked” marriages – 2 Corinthians 6:14, godly influence was weakened, while depravity increased. A result was similar to Solomon’s intermarrying, 1 Kings 11:2 – The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway.

AS FOR THE NEPHILIM:

The Nephilim were not a result of the intermarrying, but were present prior to the intermarrying.

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days–AND also afterward–when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. – Genesis 6:4

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR ANGELS TO SIN?

I believe that when God created the angels He gave them free will. I believe this because when I read the story of creation, Genesis 1:1-31, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1, I read that everything God created was good – Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! – Genesis 1:31. I believe that He also created the angels “good”. As angels were created before the creation of earth based on Job 38:4-7, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+38%3A4-7&version=NLT

Therefore, if the angels did not have free will they would not have been able, as Satan and his followers did, to choose to rebel against God. Without free will they would have essentially been robots created by God to “fan” and “worship” Him.

ARE THE ANGELS, THAT DID NOT FALL WITH SATAN, SEALED BY GOD?

I believe the answer to this question in yes. I think we can compare the angels to people in this respect. While we are still on planet earth it is possible for us to repent of our sins and “choose” to follow God. – (For more on choosing to follow God, see my tab in the menu – The Cornerstone) However, once we have “passed” from our earthly lives we will move on to one of two destinations – eternal separation from God – Hell = each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment – Hebrews 9:27,or eternally present with God – Heaven.

In the book of Genesis the Garden of Eden is synonymous to heaven. Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God, God drove out the man and the woman, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. – Genesis 3:24 If they would have stayed in the garden and eaten from the Tree of Life, they would have lived forever. Forever, though, in a sinful/separated from God state.

The angels that rebelled against God were forever banished from Heaven -…the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. – Revelation 12:9 Whereas, the angels who “choose” to stay and obey God were sealed by God, and will eternally remain in His presence.

Hope this answered your questions 🙂 Thanks again for reading my blog 🙂 Keep those questions coming!! 🙂

Some of the above material was adapted from : gotquestions.org, and Strong’s Concordance, and wordwise-bible-studies.com

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Cherubim and Seraphim – Names and Roles of Angels (Part 1) – ANGELS [4]

March 5, 2015March 11, 2015buildafoundation Leave a comment

The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.
The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.
Psalm 121:7-8

NAMES AND ROLES OF ANGELS:

CHERUBIM

From the very beginning of the Bible, in Genesis, we hear mention of angels. When God banished Adam and Eve from the garden, He placed angels in front of the entrance so no one could reenter the garden. After sending them out, the LORD God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. – Genesis 3:24

Cherubim was a word to describe “mighty angels”, who served as guardians. These “mighty angels” were also part of the Ark of Covenant – Exodus 25:18-22.

SERAPHIM

The seraphim or seraphs are described as “God worshiping angels”. They bring attention to God’s glory and majesty. They are mentioned in Isaiah’s vision when God calls him to be a prophet. “Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.” – Isaiah 6:2-4

A bit of trivia: Isaiah chapter 6 is the only place in the Bible where seraphim are mentioned.

Resources: Angels: Elect & Evil by C. Fred Dickason and gotquestion.org.

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