Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
Surely doing all the outward stuff without God is meaningless. But how often do any of us do the outward stuff even with God? I suspect that actually doing the outward stuff would tend to be pretty good evidence that it is "with God."
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Faith without works is dead, as are works independent of God. But Jesus' works were living and operative, because everything that He did was according to the Father's will. Everything was in obedience. Nothing was done apart from the Father - there was no delay, no remonstration, no false promise, no half-hearted gestures, no defiance. Everything He did was one with the Father in heaven. Surely the gates of heaven were open, and angels were ascending and descending.
So it is not works per se, but obedience which resulted in works. It was not merely faith but faithfulness, i.e. continual abiding in the reality of the Father's will. The Father may say, "Speak", or "Be silent", and either one is an opportunity to obey and be one with God.
At its core the gospel record is very simple. There was a Man on earth, wholly one with Father God in heaven. All the rest is just details. Marvelous, wonderful details. "And if all the things Jesus did were written, I suppose the world itself could not contain all the books."