Το him that overcomes, I will give him to eat of the tree of life.

Το him that overcomes, I will give him to eat of the tree of life.

My siblings, the spiritual objectives of the christian world over the past thousands of years in regards to  God’s word have not been attained or achieved and the reason being is that the lack of knowledge, sin and the existing stereotypes of this transient world have misguided the lives of all the people and nations of this earth to pursuits that are far removed from God’s word. Even though God came down to earth and taught us a new way of life that should be governing us, we remained in our beliefs and in our objectives which are acquired and developed from this worldly system. Despite all that, God insists on knocking on our doors of reasoning and in our hearts giving us today again through the Holy Spirit new foundations for regeneration. Revealing to us the hidden wisdom which He possesses, in that through this wisdom, the spiritual reconstruction may occur for all people who seek regeneration in God. How will we achieve this? By all of us imitating Jesus’s life, with the following twelve examples: 

DEDICATION

1)    My siblings, Christ in all his life upon earth was dedicated. This is evidenced by the scriptures. Someone approached Jesus one day and told him, “I will follow you wherever you go” (Matthew 8:19) and Christ replied,  “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20). What Jesus was trying to say to this person was that I don’t have daily habits, (house, job, etc) I am working for my father and I am ready to execute His commands at any moment. I am not a simple person, I am a soldier of God and I am at God’s service at every moment. I don’t even have a home. That is, if you want to follow me, you must know that whatever you did till yesterday, you must put it on the back burner and your first priority must be God’s will. This decision on the part of Jesus brought along with it dedication in his life which in turn with and through acts of love regenerated Him to God. These actions gave the impetus to all people to create regeneration, which brought forth spiritual evolution so that man can think beyond the usual existing stereotypes and aim towards heavenly oriented objectives, making exceptions in the everyday rhythms of life and manifesting love in all  aspects of his life.

IDEALS AND OBJECTIVES

2)   My siblings, Christ in all his life upon earth was a man of ideals with specific objectives which could not be altered. One day his brothers which were sent to him by his mother,  went to the place where he preached about the kingdom and they told him to go home because his mother has need of him. The reason why they did this is because they feared that the sermons He was preaching were creating resentment towards the inhabitants of his country. Indeed those who accepted Him, He overturned everything, pulling them away from the normal rhythm of their lives something that even the people close to Him (like his family members) were not able to accept.  Christ though replied,   “My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God, and do it.” (Luke 8:21). Making it known that in choosing God’s mission, there was no room for weaknesses, distinctiveness, favors towards people who are familiar or close, emotions or feelings with weaknesses etc.

 CONTINUAL SPIRITUAL ENERGY

3)   My siblings, Christ in all his life upon earth was possessed of continual spiritual energy. He was moving from town to town preaching the gospel of the kingdom and revealing the hidden mysteries which bring a new way of life to people. He showed them ethics or you may say standards of conduct like repentance so that they in turn seek for rebirth, which brings cohesion and indivisibility amongst people. Eventually leading everyone to incorruptible life, constructing within them a virtual paradise and the kingdom of God the father around them so that societies can transform into divine, spiritual and full of God’s wisdom.

WORKING FOR GOD’S GLORY

4)   My siblings, Christ in all His life on earth worked for the glory of His father, god. He never seeked glory for His own. He always stated: whatever I hear I say to you. The teachings that He revealed, He always stated that they were not His own but His Father’s. The Gospel contains within it and manifests God’s wisdom of which we should also strive for every moment of our lives no matter what the situation.

WORKING FOR REGENERATION

5)   My siblings, Christ in all His life on earth was working for the regeneration of his friends, siblings, disciples and enemies. Indeed he was working without conditions regardless of the good or bad intent of those who were listening. God’s Word reveals His calling which was directed towards fellow man, friend or enemy as he said,  “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-11:30)

VOICING GOD’S INTENTIONS AND COMMANDS

6)   My siblings, Christ in all His life on earth was voicing His Father’s intentions and commands, which he applied to Himself first. John the theologian says, The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).  Thus giving the stimulus (and the example) to all humanity so that it can take courage and apply His Father’s law, of which when it is applied, abolishes physical death and builds God’s Kingdom on earth between all logical and rational beings (people).

BEING GOVERNED BY GOD’S WISDOM

7)   My siblings, Christ in all His life on earth was governed by God, His Father’s wisdom which he would express as follows: all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28). No matter how things were in His life, whether positive or negative, He continued forward without complaint towards  the attainment of spiritual goals thus revealing His superiority. He was not extreme in either the positive or the negative. In other words when He created miracles He did not scream I am Jesus, God gave me power! I have power over all things! When He fed thousands He did not proclaim to be God. When He brought people back from the dead He did not show off to the whole town. In the presence of Pilates He did not try to justify Himself. He was not bitter. In other words He did not go into any extremes of character.  He confronted everything with seriousness and with a sense of responsibility. In moments of great happiness He showed that He had God’s wisdom because He did not display ego as most people would have done if God’s spirit was not within them. This egoism is present within us whenever we have successes in material or spiritual matters and we manifest it by continually projecting our ego. In negative circumstances, that were taking place in His life and that were put there by his fellow men such as, betrayal, untrust, ridicule, unfair blame, beating, sacrifice by crucifixion. He faced every negative situation with the virtue of all virtues, silence. With this attitude He let His Father judge the unfair events, emptying Himself to the point where He did not even have an opinion. As such He acquired the greatest virtue, humbleness. His disciples, seeing his behaviour revealed that Christ, when he was cursed, didn’t curse back. When he suffered, didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously; (1 Peter 2:23). This is wisdom, this is humbleness. We all know that the Father, God exalted Him with the elements that He exhibited. The manner in which God the Father vindicated Him, honored Him, is by giving Him the right to be called Son of God, making the righteous and the unrighteous to kneel in His name. Indeed His works were vindicated by God and the people. From God he was vindicated with the resurrection so that today he may possess the incorruptible, and eternal life. This is how Jesus has the power to give this life to whomever it pleases, since this person’s works resemble His own. He has been vindicated by the people because today millions of people idolize Him, love Him and in His name they are ready to give their lives if necessary. As well, millions of praisings and millions of human prayers that are made in His name, reach heaven.

MAKING SPIRITUAL GOALS THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

8)   My siblings, Christ in all His life on earth put forth spiritual goals as primary objectives. The reason He did this is because He wanted to overthrow this world that is based on money, on personal interests, on egotistical and diabolical ambitions, on living concerns (like where you are going to live, what are you going to eat, etc.) and in turn making regeneration the primary goal in His life and in the lives of His fellow men which accompanied and followed Him and were pretty much His disciples. He would say, seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33). In other words He would tell them, incorporate amongst yourselves love, peace, justice, and God’s spiritual wealth so that you may properly administer the material wealth because otherwise without these Godly elements, Godly wisdom,  you will always end up at a dead end like wars, rivalries, etc.

         

As they went on the way, a certain man said to him, “I want to follow you wherever you go, Lord.” Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”  He said to another, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and announce God’s Kingdom.” Another also said, “I want to follow you, Lord, but first allow me to say goodbye to those who are at my house.”  But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for God’s Kingdom.” (luke 9:57-9:62)

The reason why the Lord made it a priority to fulfill His Father’s - God’s will (which contributes to man’s regeneration by giving him first Godly wisdom) is because the material (or physical) element (which is all around us) creates and develops man’s standard of  living and also their spiritual level. If man though does not seek to be regenerated in God, he will not be ensured of life because his life’s personal interests take precedence over  love.  The Lord foreknew that taking this direction in life without God’s wisdom meant that his fellow man could not be ensured of the path to life but rivalries, hatred, lies, ego etc, elements which after two thousand years remain in people’s lives because God’s counsel has not been adopted by them.  As a natural consequence we see a continuance of this diabolical system in our societies with catastrophic results which may become unpredictable if we don’t return to God’s principles. The manner in which these catastrophic results can materialize is simple. The world is based on money, medicine, and guns. If the money disappears the guns will come and then afterwards may God protect us because everything will be destroyed! If only the world was based on God’s principles (love, peace and justice, etc.).

KNOCKING DOWN THE DIVIDING WALL OF ENMITY

9)   My siblings, Christ in all His life on earth knocked down the dividing wall of enmity which came to be because of sin, which man appropriated, making sin his second nature. More specifically, the reason why the dividing wall of enmity came to be is because man cut the umbilical cord with the life creating God and Father. The division then dominated all reasonable and logical beings. The dividing wall of enmity that we are called to knock down today through Christ is first between God and man on a personal level and then on a general level. This dividing wall between God and man came to existence from sin and man’s disobedience of God’s law. The law was given from God in order to protect the relationship between man and God and the relationship between man and his fellow man. Since man turned away from God, the dividing wall grew.

Christ breaks down the dividing wall of enmity between God and man.

Now Christ having made his struggle and having given his life as a ransom for many, knocked down this dividing wall. As such, man with the grace that was given to him, and through the application of continual and sustained effort has the possibility to fulfill God’s law and bring the relationship with the Father back to its original state. By original state, Thomas is referring to the relationship that Adam had with God in the garden of Eden where they would talk and walk hand in hand. All of us today with God’s great mercy and sincere repentance, can enter into the Holy of Holies and converse face to face with God the Father, so that He can transmit to us the hidden eternal life and for us to partake in His infinite glory. Thomas calls it hidden because it is not openly revealed to everyone. A person must follow God’s law and practice His will so that God can slowly unravel the mysteries of eternal life or else everyone would have access to it. Imagine now with the corruption that exists in this world for someone to have eternal life without having purified himself and made himself in the image of God, he will bring devastation on this planet and all of humanity.

         

          Christ breaks down the dividing wall of enmity between God, the devil, and man

This relationship was abysmal throughout the whole Old Testament. The manner in which He knocked down this dividing wall of enmity was by defeating the devil. By defeating the devil, Jesus changed our perception of the devil from an exterminator (one that had no regard for life and took it at will) in the old testament to a trainer* in the New Testament. By trainer Thomas is saying that the devil is God’s perfect training tool. He is tasked with showing humanity the wrong that can exist and we have the free will to stay in the wrong or do what is right. In the process he is a filter which weeds out all the people that cannot see or do good and therefore by death, he prevents them from entering into the Kingdom. Jesus though by defeating death gave man hope in doing the same and He showed humanity the manner in which it can succeed to do the same.

For whom the Lord loves, he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives.”⁷ It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with children, for what son is there whom his father doesn’t discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have been made partakers, then are you illegitimate, and not children. (Hebrews 12:6-8). Before Christ’s presence, the devil would kill people because of their ignorance of God’s word, filling them with passions, weaknesses, meanness, fears etc. Indeed these passions distanced them from God’s wisdom, God’s law, the same God that stated that “The man that doeth them shall live in them.(Galatians 3:12). Today though, training and or education gives birth to repentance and salvation and the reason being is that all things work together for good for those who love God (romans 8:28).

Christ knocks down the dividing wall of enmity between man and his fellow man.

Christ knocked down the dividing wall of enmity between man and his fellow man through His word. Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:41, Luke 6:30). Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:21-22). When all this is understood first of all by us, then our reinstatement with God’s principles will begin and our relationship with God will be restored, and God will pass onto us His manifold wisdom which in turn will start to transform us because the mechanisms of eternal life which already exist within us will begin to produce eternal life. The spirit affects the the psychosomatic part of our lives. When our emotions are Christ centered then we will become a well of purity and a source of life. Only in this manner will we become inheritors, co-inheritors and partakers of the Father’s infinite and beautiful glory.

CLOSING THE DOORS THAT LEAD TO DEATH

10.  My siblings, Christ in all His life on earth labored for the closing of the doors of corruption, of sin, of death and he succeeded, not only for Himself but for all of us. All that is needed is that we consciously follow Him, and let Him come alive in our lives through His word. My siblings, Christ today has the keys to life and to hell. Indeed to whoever wants it, He opens the path to life and to whoever He wants, He closes it. Christ’s choice though (whether to open or close the path) depends on us.  Christ walked down this path and he knows today who walks this path with honesty. The decision we make, the living faith within us, and our kindness cause Christ to forever lay open the door of life which no one can close. This is the door that by our faith He has opened for us. We can fool ourselves and our fellow men but Christ we cannot. This is why we should start  building a relationship of trust with Him so that He can dwell within us forever. Let’s do His will and we will be assured that God will descend to meet with us. His presence will provide us with infinite wisdom, infinite glory, infinite life, and incorruptible life. It is well worth our effort to dedicate this short life that we have so that we can acquire a great, everlasting and eternal life. My siblings, death has been defeated, bodily corruption or decay has been defeated, sin has been defeated by our Lord and God! The same said, Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father. (John 14:12). If we believe this saying then let us become citizens of Christ’s life developing within us God’s qualities, fruits of the Holy Spirit, gifts of the Holy Spirit and signs of God’s presence and we will never regret choosing to follow this spiritual path and housing Jesus in our lives. Christ my siblings had the same biological body as us, that which made Him God was the spirit. Let’s study this spirit at every moment so it can deify us since it is written “Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”(Psalms 82:6). The apostle Paul says, “God raised Christ Jesus from death. Does God's Spirit live in you? Then God will also give life to your bodies which die. He does this through his Spirit who lives in you.”(Romans 8:11). For this spirit to come - within us, we must first ask ourselves for what reason did we choose Christ. Did we do it so we can look smart? (as good conversation material). Maybe we got scared that we might perish or is it because  He is our father and we want to restore our relationship? If we want to come close to God because we want to be seen as righteous, good, clever, we are wasting our time. If we came because of fear, we will not reach our objectives. If we came because we understood our mistake and we want to return to God’s house just like the prodigal son, then God will welcome us with a red carpet. He will put a ring on our finger which restores our relationship with Him and we will be seated as an honorary person at the table of life so that we may enjoy and taste the bread of life forever, may it be amen.

MANIFESTING SINCERE LOVE

11. My siblings, Christ in all His life on earth, manifested sincere love which was directed to every fellow man, friend and enemy. On the cross He told His Father about those who were responsible for crucifying Him, “Father, forgive them! They do not know what they are doing.” (luke 23:34). This is the love we should attain which is beyond human comprehension yet it is big enough to house all people regardless of creed, race, or nation. As well, there is another form of love that should pervade inside us and this is our dedication to do God’s will by entering in the sanctuary, in silence, we will learn of God’s wisdom. We will place this wisdom in our lives first and with the relevant struggle and effort through sacrifice we will spread it to those around us,  until the regenerative teachings will bring about all people to God’s principles.

PROCLAIMING GOD’S WILL

12. My siblings, Christ in all His life on earth proclaimed His Father’s will and always stated the truth when He was asked not caring how his fellow men or even his enemies might take His words. The same with us, let’s study the word of God day and night so that through it we can create a new life, acquiring new elements that will govern us so that our life becomes truth, a lighthouse whose light will never cease, and thus provoke the spiritual interest of our fellow men so that we may become the reason for them to want to be within the confines and principles of God themselves. The common goal is to bring a healthy coexistence between us, it will bring heaven bound wisdom full of fruits, gifts and a variety of spiritual signs. We all see today how the devil has managed to build his nation within all people and the reason why is because Christ’s teachings have depreciated in people's consciousness. And as such the lie has become the unshakable constitution. Today the world has been filled with knowledge but we know that  “knowledge makes us proud. Love is the real teacher” (1 Corinthians 8:1). Today we also see that the way the world has been formed, it will be difficult and unthinkable to change it but we know that God has His plan and He will bring it to pass. We will not lose our faith and we will not diminish His omnipotence from our lives or from those of our fellow men. May it be, May it be, Amen.