THE SPIRITUAL NUT JOBS VS MARTIN ZENDER.

THE SPIRITUAL NUT JOBS VS MARTIN ZENDER.
I used to be a a spiritual nut job.
I hung out with the Gene Edwards “house church movement” for a number of years.
I studied the mystics, Watchman Nee, T. Austin Sparks, Madame Guyon, and of course Gene.
Thank God, I stumbled my way out of the mystic play land and found a loose nit band of “bible students”… not just “christians”… real students.
Martin Zender was one of those students.
A. E. Knoch was another.
The BIGGEST DIFFERENCE between my old “mystic” friends and the “bible students” is this: PRIDE and ARROGANCE vs a real, but forced humility.
Let me explain:
The mystics were incredibly full of pride. And arrogance—let’s not forget arrogance. But they hid their pride in spiritual sounding lingo.
The king of the mystics was Watchman Nee. We all loved him.
He even wrote a big, fat, three volume book called THE SPIRITUAL MAN.
If you even wanted to be “spiritual”… you gotta read THE SPIRITUAL MAN.
The problem is… I bought it, read it and to this day I have no idea what it says.
That’s because the mystics (i.e. “spiritual men”) always have their own vocabulary. And like snowflakes and cornflakes… no two flakes are alike.
Well… you can’t be too hard on T. Austin Sparks, Watchman Nee and Gene Edwards… because all those guys were using bibles there were discordant.

You see… one of A. E. Knoch’s greatest quotes is this:
“You cannot have clear thoughts until you have a clarified vocabulary.”

… love that quote.

So— back to the “spiritual men”. I got to thinking about all this when I stumbled onto the website of a dude named Frank Violia — apparently he’s the new mystic guru on the block since Gene Edwards has died.
I wasn’t long on his site before realizing he’s like other mystics, doing the pride thing, babbling on using discordant vocabulary, sounding wise and spiritual… and having a good ole time of it.

So… I bailed from his site in no time flat, waiting for the next Martin Zender video.
At least there, you won’t find some dude pretending that he’s all ‘more spiritual than thou’.

On Martin’s channel, you’ll find him talking GRACE, smoking a cig, sipping some whiskey… THINGS YOU KNOW IN YOUR HEART you’d never hear or see in the so-called “spiritual churches”.

Here’s the deal: Grace is God’s favor — showered on dudes and dudettes who absolutely DON’T DESERVE IT. And don’t even try to deserve it. Get it?

Why would you want to be “SPIRITUAL” when you can be A RECIPIENT OF GRACE?”

Gene (and I assume now, Frank) has all these folks feeling like they are more spiritual than church-goers… ‘cause they now meet in homes, not church buildings. So what. Big deal.

I was in the “church” in Isla Vista — and I know all the same games of pride and one-upmanship exist in the home church movement as exist in any click of people.

But… over the fence… in the A. E. Knoch neighborhood, where you’ll find Martin Zender, Dean Hough, Jim Coram, Michael L. Knotts, etc. … you’ll discover a “concordant teaching”… where these guys try to clarify the vocabulary so you’ll have clear thoughts.

They use the CONCORDANT LITERAL NEW TESTAMENT.
And, they use a “concordant” method of study…

And ya know what… They are so awestruck with GRACE… and they don’t even try to be “spiritual”.

If you want to be “spiritual” — delve into Watchman Nee, and Gene and the boys. And once you get spiritual… ah, you’ll be so proud of yourself. You won’t believe your accomplishments. Wow.

But if you want GRACE… You don’t have to do much at all.
Now mind you, you won’t have anything to brag on except the cross of Christ. And most folks won’t get it when you brag on the cross.
And the cross is not something you wear around your neck.
And it’s not some burden you have to bear.
It’s something that’s already DONE, for you. No stings attached.

You wanna hear “spiritual”… I’ll tell ya some’em spiritual…

Zander, Knoch and the other Concordant bible students often talk about the love between God and His son. They learned it from Paul. Paul, who mentions “THE SON OF HIS LOVE.”

I’m telling you… if you can wrap your head around this thought: That God loves Christ… and it’s really the whole story of creation… Christ, the firstborn of every creature (COL 1:16)… the blood of the cross (COL 1:20) … there’s really no room in the story for our pride, our contribution, our accomplishments, — this whole thing is about God and Christ. And the movement towards God becoming ALL IN ALL (I COR 15:20-28)

It is God’s eonian purpose. (EPH 3:11)

Gene Edwards used to have this phrase that he would tell us…

“Beware Brothers Bearing Verses.”

Imagine my surprise and delight to find the concordant bible students BEARING LOTS AND LOTS OF VERSES… concordantly.

And imagine my delight to find that I no longer had to be “spiritual”… in order to be a recipient of GRACE.

MY LITTLE DUST UP WITH THE FREEWILL CHICK, — MOVING AROUND THE WORD “IN”

She says “all in Christ”… but Paul says “in Christ all.”

Dear Freewiller,
You can’t trick me. I know grammar and sentence structure — at least as well as a 5th grader–
Regarding I COR 15:22
(For even as in Adam, all are dying, thus also in Christ shall all be made alive.)

THE SUBJECT: all dying, all made alive.
Notice that this is not contradictory thoughts, but dual, related thoughts.
1) ALL die
2) ALL made alive

In this sentence… don’t be wandering all over the bible to “prove” the ineffectiveness of God’s work in the cross of Christ… I don’t want to hear it… Just stick to THIS ONE SENTENCE… in this sentence… this subject matter is that ALL are dying and ALL are made alive.
This dual thought is a STAND ALONE idea.

The word IN does not qualify or LIMIT the amount of those who die-live…
For ALL DIE… all die… all die…
And the same amount live (“shall be made alive”)

It is not ALL IN ADAM die… No sir, ALL DIE… the all is unqualified by the IN, in this sentence.

It is not ALL IN ADAM DIE… it is IN ADAM ALL DIE.

So, from the structure of God’s sentence here we know: ALL die, and the word IN reveals THE INSTRUMENT BY WHICH THEY DIE. (IN Adam they die.)
The word IN does not (in this case) qualify the amount of who dies, the word ALL qualifies that amount.

The word IN reveals HOW they die/are made alive.

In this verse, the message is concerning ALL.
Not “all who”…
Just ALL.
For, ALL are IN Adam as a matter of course. No one has to do anything to be “in Adam”… No one has to believe in Adam… obey Adam… receive Adam… have faith in Adam…

Instead, Adam is the INSTRUMENT of death — for us all. (Romans 5:12)

Guaranteed. No refunds. All sales final. You will die. Why? You are in Adam like it or not. You cannot remove yourself from Adam, you cannot get out of the deal, you’re IN Adam, too bad.

Similarly — FOR EVEN AS, THUS ALSO… (I know Freewillers everywhere hate those words, so allow me to say them again…) FOR EVEN AS, THUS ALSO..

ALL shall be made alive.

How? They shall be made alive IN Christ.
Who? All!
How? In Christ!
When? When Christ gives up the kingdom to His God and Father, when he abolished rule, authority, and power, and the last enemy (death)– THEN, in Christ, all will be made alive.
Why? That God may be all, in all.

You may dance and squirm all you want… but I COR 15:22 DOES NOT say, —
all in Adam, die… it says IN ADAM ALL DIE
and–
it DOES NOT say…
all in Christ shall be made alive… it says IN CHRIST ALL SHALL BE MADE ALIVE.

Freewillers sure do dance a lot. And nicely too.

(To repeat: The word IN is this case, V22, is the INSTRUMENT of dying/making alive… it is not to qualify WHO dies and WHO is made alive… for that qualifier is the word ALL as a stand-alone thought.
FOR EVEN AS-THUS ALSO.)

Found on amazon: Christ Triumphant: Or, Universalism Asserted

Originally published over 100 years ago, this book attempts to answer the question of questions: Can Evil triumph finally over Good? If we answer affirmatively with the popular creed, we are practically falling into Dualism. But if we reply in the negative, we are teaching Universalism. Such are the issues involved. Men strive to save the popular creed by various modifications: by diminishing the number of the lost, by softening their torments, or by asserting their annihilation. What are all these but so many tacit confessions that men everywhere feel it impossible to maintain the creed still generally professed? This early work on universal reconciliation deals with these things, and more, including much interesting church history.

REVIEW/COMMENT:

Every Knee Shall Bow

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

Does the idea of hell trouble you?

I don’t mean, does it scare you. I mean, having had your moral ideas formed by Jesus’ commands to love, does the idea of hell—of God torturing people for all eternity for things they did over a few years—seem morally wrong?

Have you ever held out the hope that God will save everyone in the end…because that’s what you would do if you were an all-good, all-loving God?

If so, read this book.

In the last few years some popular authors have defended the idea of universalism, i.e., that God will save everyone. I’m thinking especially of Rob Bell’s book, Love Wins, and Philip Gulley’s book, If Grace Is True. The problem with both of those books is that they’re based more on philosophy and moral convictions, and are very light on Scripture. In fact, Gulley has an extremely low view of Scripture.

Not Allin. He shows that universalism is more than a hope. It has solid Scriptural basis, not just in the character of God, but in verses that explicitly say God will reconcile all things to Himself, and that, in the end, every knee shall bow and confess that Jesus is Lord. It’s not just three or four verses. To my utter surprise, Allin marshals dozens of verses I hadn’t thought about very much before, in support of the idea that no one will be lost forever, but that everyone will be saved in the end.

Allin goes over some historical evidence that the people in the Church have always had this hope. I wasn’t too concerned about that. What I loved was his Biblical exegesis. That’s what I care about. That’s my highest standard—does God’s Word teach it? Allin shows it does. At least, it very probably does. Allin changed my mind. I’m not a dogmatic universalist. But I’m more than just a hopeful one.

Allin’s book shows that Jesus’ “good news” is even better than we imagined.

If you can find a copy, get one. I think Robin Parry has issued an annotated reprint through Wipf & Stock.

You believe in prepositions. I believe in nouns.

MY LATEST MESSAGE TO THE FREEWILL CHICK:
You believe in prepositions.
I believe in nouns.
We were looking that this prayer of Paul’s in Ephesians 1:15-23…
And we see it ends with a reference to God becoming all in all. A reference also found in the great passage of I COR 15:20-28.
And of course you will have nothing to do with it’s deeper or broader implications.
No. You set out on an immediate course to limit the ALL to ONLY those “IN” Christ.
IN is a preposition.
ALL is a noun.
And what of this “in Christ” business?
You make sure this “in Christ” thing is a tightly weaved incantation, that only the exclusive and proper may enter. No one else is “in Christ” only these special few.
But what of my noun “ALL”?
What if God is becoming all?
And what of my suggestion that God will become all —IN ALL.
N. O. Spells, NO-you’ll have none of it.
It just doesn’t fit with your incantations of how one comes IN to Christ. So, let’s not consider anything broad for a moment.
But prepositions be damned.
They’re just not as important to a sentence as nouns.
I brought up this discussion to look at Paul’s beautiful prayer.
A prayer with such depth and meaning as I can scarcely grasp.
And you cheapen it altogether by harping back to your ‘who’s included and who’s not’ fantasy.

“…A spirit of wisdom… and revelation…in the realization of Him…”

Come on, little girl, these are not the exclusionary words of the sorcerer’s magic spell of who’s in and who’s out.
These are the words that go beyond the minor’s comprehension.

What does “the realization of him” even mean?
Perhaps, it has something to do with the last few words of the passage (V. 23) “the complement of the One completing the all in all.”

Will God be all?
Paul seems to think so.
But you spread doubts about this.
You preach with your multitude of explainations that God will be some. Not all.
How do you know??? You say it has everything to do with the prim and proper way to find yourself IN Christ. Nothing else will do.
Thus, God will be some. But not all.
When I read Paul, my heart is lifted up. To think that God will be all, thrills me.
When I read your words, I’m not so sure “thrill” is an appropriate emotion.

Give me the nouns.
You may have the prepositions.

Grace to you. You’ll need it.
As will I.
Ace

FROM EPHESIANS CHAPTER ONE:

15 Therefore, I also, on hearing of this faith of yours in the Lord Jesus, and that for all the saints,
16 do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention in my prayers
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may be giving you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the realization of Him,
18 the eyes of your heart having been enlightened, for you to perceive what is the expectation of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of the enjoyment of His allotment among the saints,
19 and what the transcendent greatness of His power for us who are believing, in accord with the operation of the might of His strength,
20 which is operative in the Christ, rousing Him from among the dead and seating Him at His right hand among the celestials,
21 up over every sovereignty and authority and power and lordship, and every name that is named, not only in this eon, but also in that which is impending:
22 and subjects all under His feet, and gives Him, as Head over all, to the ecclesia
23 which is His body, the complement of the One completing the all in all.

YOU CAN PRAY THE SO-CALLED “LORD’S PRAYER” OR YOU CAN PRAY THE PRAYER OF PAUL, found over in Eph 1:15-23

Keep in mind that Paul was the Pagan’s apostle. His message is unique. And this prayer is WAY BEYOND anything most christians have ever considered — why? — because most christians keep mixing up the evangel of the circumcision with the evangel of the uncircumcision.

So, Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23 is really deep. I’m not sure I get it even though I’ve considered the matter for years.

The circumcision evangel is all about grace AND WORKS.
The uncircumcision evangel is all about grace AND FAITH.

You should not mix the two into one pot of soup. You’ll lose a lot.

In fact, I’ll tell you here and now… YOU SHOULD ONLY READ PAUL’S 13 LETTERS FOR NEXT FEW YEARS. Then, gently consider the rest of the Bible… after all, the rest of the Bible is written to, for, and about, the Jews.

But, again, Paul is the pagan’s apostle. (See Galatians 2:7)

Anyway… there is this chick I’ve been having theological debates with.
She is clueless that her message is all about WORKS, WORKS, WORKS.

She insists she is not preaching WORKS, and then will preach works with all her little heart.

The other day, she and I had this exchange: (enjoy)

I SAID:
“I pray…the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may be giving you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the realization of Him,”

SHE REPLIED:
“You are praying that God gives me the REALIZATION of Him? You THINK that I don’t REALIZE Him? Not only do I realize Him I also know Him…we talk every day,…”

(Her reply actually went on for a total of 1,322 words. It was all about WORKS, WORKS, WORKS. All that YOU MUST DO to be saved, type of thing. She knows nothing of “GRACE” — Grace is the favor of God shown to someone who deserves the opposite.)

So… I REPLIED:
“I’m quite sure that you do not have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the realization of Him. “I have been so-called “born again” since 1967 and a serious bible student since 1980… and I’m also quite sure that I do not have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the realization of Him.”

I PRESENT THIS LITTLE EXCHANGE — so that you can see, the modern day pharisee’s pride in themselves is strong.
And, to encourage you to read the letters of Paul… The basis of Paul’s teaching is that…
“All is of God” — Romans 11:36.
“God is operating all things, after the council of his own will” — Eph 1:11
“God is the savior of all.” I TIM 4:10
And God’s operation, right now, was a “secret” (mystery KJV) but now has been revealed though Paul’s evangel.

CHECK IT OUT:
From EPHESIANS, CHAPTER THREE:
3 for by revelation the secret is made known to me (according as I write before, in brief, 4 by which you who are reading are able to apprehend my understanding in the secret of the Christ, 5 which, in other generations, is not made known to the sons of humanity as it was now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets): in spirit 6 the nations are to be joint enjoyers of an allotment, and a joint body, and joint partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus, through the evangel 7 of which I became the dispenser, in accord with the gratuity of the grace of God, which is granted to me in accord with His powerful operation. 8 To me, less than the least of all saints, was granted this grace: to bring the evangel of the untraceable riches of Christ to the nations, 9 and to enlighten all as to what is the administration of the secret, which has been concealed from the eons in God, Who creates all, 10 that now may be made known to the sovereignties and the authorities among the celestials, through the ecclesia, the multifarious wisdom of God, 11 in accord with the purpose of the eons, which He makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord;

This stuff is deep. And humbling.
Grace to you, all of you.
Ace.

Paul’s Prayer: (From Ephesians chapter one)

15 Therefore, I also, on hearing of this faith of yours in the Lord Jesus, and that for all the saints,
16 do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention in my prayers
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may be giving you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the realization of Him,
18 the eyes of your heart having been enlightened, for you to perceive what is the expectation of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of the enjoyment of His allotment among the saints,
19 and what the transcendent greatness of His power for us who are believing, in accord with the operation of the might of His strength,
20 which is operative in the Christ, rousing Him from among the dead and seating Him at His right hand among the celestials,
21 up over every sovereignty and authority and power and lordship, and every name that is named, not only in this eon, but also in that which is impending:
22 and subjects all under His feet, and gives Him, as Head over all, to the ecclesia
23 which is His body, the complement of the One completing the all in all.

“DON’T EAT THE APPLE” WAS NOT “FREEWILL” IT WAS A SET-UP.

Modern day “christians” will tell you that it’s all about “freewill”. They say God is going to send you to hell, if you don’t use your “freewill” in the right kind of way and become a good, bible believing christian.
It’s shallow thinking, really. The “freewill-endless hell” thing is really not very clever at all. Any school kid can’t make up a scary story like that.
They (the christians) tell you it all started in the garden of Eden, when God told Adam NOT to eat of the forbidden fruit and God would not have told him, if Adam could not really have obeyed.— So, God gave Adam a so-called “freewill”, ya see.

Well…. I don’t think so… for the following 10 reasons.

1. The first clue we have that this is a set-up is the very fact that God TOLD Adam NOT to eat of that one tree. That’s totally reverse-psychology. That’s like saying to someone, DON’T THINK ABOUT YELLOW COWS — what are they going to think about but “yellow cows”. You see, the mind cannot process a negative, but of course God knew this, right? It was a set-up. (See Romans 5:20)
2. Next, if God really did not want Adam to eat of the “forbidden fruit” — why not put the apple tree in Florida, or Kansas… anywhere but right there in middle of the Garden, within eye site? It was a set-up.
3. If God really did not want them to eat of the forbidden fruit… why put the “crafty snake” in the garden to call attention to the fruit? Yak, yak, yak, about the forbidden fruit… why couldn’t God have made a non-talking snake? It was a set-up.
4. So, of course after all that yakking by the snake about the forbidden fruit… Eve thought to her self…
5. IT’S GOOD FOR FOOD.
6. IT’S PLEASING TO THE EYE
7. AND BY EATING IT, YOU’LL GAIN WISDOM-KNOWLEDGE (something about knowing good and evil). It was a set-up.
8. Next, the snake lied to them, saying “YOU WON’T REALLY DIE” if you eat of it. — And who doesn’t want immortality, right? It was a set up.
9. (Keep in mind, this business of “you won’t really die” was actually the first lie told in the bible. After they ate the forbidden fruit, the dying process began in them, they became “mortal”… and did really did grow old and die. This “you won’t really die” is still to this day, a LIE told by every major religion out there. They now call it “the immortality of the soul”. But it’s a lie. The bible says elsewhere “the soul that sinneth it shall die.” (EZK 18:20) So, the soul is not immortal. And yes, Adam and the woman started down the mortal road on the day they ate of the fruit. Forbidden fruit, that is.
10. So, his woman was deceived and ate the fruit… she offers the same forbidden fruit to Adam… NOW WHAT? That’s just not fair… this is a total SET-UP. I tell you the pressure is mounting. Adam’s not going to lose the one creature in the whole world that was made just for him. Of course he’s going to take that fruit from her hand and join her—eat it.
    There is no way anyone in his right mind would say that Adam had a “FREEWILL” in this story. His will was all tangled up in a complicated situation. His will was not “free” of influence, “free” of peer pressure, “free” of causal factors. NO.
    Adam’s will was ENTANGLED, not “free”.

HOWEVER, wisdom smiles at this story.
For, Romans 11:36 tells us that All is of God.
And, Romans 5:20 tells us God gave the law that sin might increase.
And, Isaiah 45:7 says God created both good and evil.

Of course this was a SET-UP.
God actually wanted Adam to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam was ignorant. He had it “good” in the garden, but he did not know it. All knowledge is a comparative thing.
You cannot know something is GOOD until you know something else is EVIL.
It would make sense for God to want Adam to appreciate everything… and for Adam to love God and know that God is “good” — But how is Adam going to know that “God is good” until Adam gets to know a big taste of “evil” — The garden and the tree was a set-up.

Thank God that Adam sinned and ate of the tree.
It caused a world of hurt and turmoil.
But sin and death are pre-requirements for salvation.
Salvation would have very little meaning for us, were it not for Adam’s sin and the resulting death we all face.
“For even as in Adam, all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. (I COR 15:22)

There is no “freewill” in the story of Adam and Eve and the garden and the forbidden fruit and the snake. Not a drop of “freewill”.
It was all a set-up.
Some powerful forces were in play to move Adam along to the true goal… so that we all can appreciate the saving work of God’s Son on the cross 2,000 years ago.
The first Adam ruined everything.
The last Adam, more than restores everything.
See I Corinthians 15:45.

THE AMAZING DRUGS GOD IS GONNA PASS OUT IN HEAVEN.

Ya know how Christians tell us that you must believe, repent, be born again, etc… or you’re going to hell???
And so… if you do make it to heaven, you’re supposedly in a GREAT PLACE, FULL OF LOVE AND HAPPINESS..???

WELL… stick with me here, ‘cause I have a question.

What if, once we get all settled down in heaven, we remember an old loved one, or family member, or friend… WHO DID NOT MAKE IT TO HEAVEN… wouldn’t we be SAD in heaven?

Or does God dull our minds?
Or does God pass out some powerful drugs… so we’ll never think of our loved ones again… ever… for ever AND ever???

Because… it seems to me… if we could think about those we loved who did not make it to heaven… then heaven would be hell, right?

There are plenty of people that I love… women, men, relatives, neighbors, some who died tragically, some I love but have never met, (like great names from history).

And if I’m in heaven, and they are not… how is God going to keep me from thinking of them, and longing for them???

How is God going to stop this nightmare? Drugs? Dulled, stupefied minds?

Somehow “Party on dude”, doesn’t seem so appealing right about now.

Thank God we’ve discovered I TIM 4:10… that God is the savior.
In fact, God is the savior of all.
Yes, He is especially the savior of believers,
But not exclusively.
We’re just going to have to trust Him about this matter.
Otherwise, heaven will be hell, guaranteed. Or your money back.

THREE WORDS PROVE THAT “FREEWILL” IS NOT TRUE, AND IS IN FACT A SILLY NOTION.

The three words are “all in all”… found at the end of I Corinthians 15:20-28.
As I see the big pictures, these three words are the biggest words in the whole bible.
They reveal everything we all truly long for.
They make the whole world make sense.

Let’s take a look.

The idea behind God being ALL IN ALL… is this:
God will NOT be all in SOME.
Nor, will God be SOME in all.
And neither will be be SOME in SOME.
Those notions belong to the “freewill” teaching.

According to FREEWILLERS, man has a so-called “freewill” and God just can’t do anything about it.

They say — God desires man to behave and God will reward mankind if they behave, but God really has no control over the situation. Poor God.

In that situation God is like an old jewish mother with a stubborn, rebellious child, who throws up her arms and says “What’s a mother to do?????”

Essentially saying “Don’t blame me, that child has a mind of its own.”

Well… the freewilers clearly teach that God can’t be blamed for sending sinners to hell. Oh no… man did that to himself, they say.

“You can only blame yourself for going to endless hell, after all, God did everything he could do.” They say.

But over on Paul’s side of the camp… there is no big, bad, human “freewill”.

Oh sure, man has a will, but it’s nothing like a “free” will. Man’s will is ENTANGLED much more than it is “free”.

Our will is entangled with our nationality, our hair color, the desire to be liked, the bad pizza we ate last night, the pebble in our shoe, rejection from a love interest, poor understanding of our own psychology, lack of money… many, many things.

The idea that mankind has a “freewill” is pure bullshit, (pardon my french).

If man truly has a “freewill” how in the world would God ever get to be ALL IN ALL?

It’s not even a close thought.

Would freewill-man make God all… in all?

Wow… what a thought huh? That freewill-man would take a lower position and make God all, in all.

Keep in mind, that according to freewill teaching, man has a “free” will and God cannot force man to do anything. Therefore, if God is to be all in anything, it is man who makes it happen.

— the coffee is ready, so maybe I’ll continue these thoughts later..
Jones.

ACE THOUGHTS CONTINUED:

Freewill — is really a “man glorifying” thought.
If God create man, and gives him a so-called “freewill” and man comes along and ruins everything… it would seem that God is reckless, careless, and more or less a buffoon.

The only way God can be all, in all, is if God pulls it all off.
If man is in charge of final, human destiny… God would never be all, in all.
God might be MORE in some than he is in others, but nowhere near all… in all.

As A.E. Knock once said:

Human destiny is determined entire by the purpose of God.

The purpose of man is fickled.
The freewill of man is so sketchy that we should be fearful to even suggest it has any real, long-lasting reach or influence.

No Man Hates His Own Flesh

We may, with delightful delectation, dwell upon the fact that no man ever hated his own flesh. No exhortation is needed there. It is instinctive, inevitable. So is Christ’s love to us. We are joined by bonds unbreakable. In loving us, He loves Himself. We need not implore Him to favor us, nor must we merit His affection. Within our own breasts we have a continual reminder of the love of God’s Anointed for the members of His body. We do not ask our members to earn our regard. Indeed, if an arm is hurt, we give it added concern. If a foot is lame, we do not discard it, but favor it all the more. So is the love of Christ. Let us not imagine that our weakness, our unworthiness, will make Him weary of us. That can never be.
A.E. Knoch (1874-1965)

THE GARDEN OF NUTS VS. MARTIN ZENDER

This was posted over on Martin Zender’s youtube channel:

Once in a while, some “nut” will come on this channel and try to stir up some things by preaching about the importance of freewill, the adamic race, the 70 weeks, the hidden meaning behind a meaningless word to two.

Well… I just wanted to share a thought about “nuts”.

Years ago, I found an old book in a used book store called
THE GARDEN OF NUTS
It was a book about MYSTICS.
So I brought it home because at the time, I was following and trying to learn from some mystics in the Christian faith.
Namely, Madame Guyon, Brother Lawrence, Watchman Nee, Witness Lee and of course my old buddy; Gene Edwards.

I was sure that these guys, (the mystical brethren) were WAY more spiritual than the Baptists and charismatic Christians I was reared in.

So, this book might teach me something, right, it’s about mystics, right?

As soon as I opened it and began reading the dang book… it smacked me with some words I’ve never forgot.

It said that the only thing mystics have in common is they all have their own vocabulary, and you can never figure out if one mystic agrees with another, because WHO THE HELL KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT?

ENTER MARTIN ZENDER:

What Brother Zender is doing here is giving us the tools to have a consistent and decent vocabulary regarding the things of God.

And he’s not making all this stuff up in his head.

First of all, he’s using the CONCORDANT translation of the Bible.
Secondly, he’s studying the Bible in a CONCORDAT METHOD.

And he’s doing a fine job of it, in my opinion.

The big idea behind the Concordant Bible, is that ONE Greek word or Hebrew word, should-as near as possible- be translated with just ONE English word— for consistency’s sake and sanity’s sake, and to let the reader make up his own mind about what God has said.

The big idea about studying the Bible in a CONCORDANT way, is this: what ever the topic, you look up all the places where the subject is mentioned, and THEN form your conclusions. That way, you don’t bring your own ideas to the Bible, and force your ideas into it.
You let it give you the ideas instead.

For example you might look up all the places where the word SPIRIT is mentioned, before you try to determine what is or is not “spiritual”.

Or you might look up DEATH, to see what exactly is DEATH.

You might look up TRINTY and be mad to find the stupid word is not in the Bible at all. So forget it.

The CONCORDANT METHOD of study (and the concordant version) takes the power away from “MYSTICS” (nuts, really) and gives you the power to determine what the heck’s going on here.

The power the MYSTICS have, is slight-of-hand tricks, with words and meanings and nonsense really.

In my younger says, I was sure these mystic guys were “spiritual” because I had no idea what they were saying.

Now I’m sure they are NOT spiritual… not any more than I am, and I’m not trying hard at all to be “spiritual.”

You see… these days I believe “GOD IS THE SAVIOR” (I TIM 4:10) and I am not my own savior. Pretty cool, huh?

The secret power of the Concordant version and the Concordant method of study, is that you reach CONSISTENT CONCLUSIONS.

What a relief.

Thank God Martin Zender is not a “mystic”.. and yet, it’s mystical that he’s not a mystic. Get my meaning?

Anyway, stop what you’re doing, order yourself a Concordant Literal New Testament, and order up all of Martin’s books, and enjoy the ride. As we await our savior. You know… that “expectation” thing.

And tune in… NOW IN COLOR (as the 1960s TV shows use to say.)

Grace to you. All of you.
Ace.