Quote:
Originally Posted by Awoken
I especially like the Amplified Bible on this one. Very clear explanation from the Son of God - "I know that God's command itself IS eternal life, therefore I make sure I speak/do EXACTLY what He says."
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This is similar to what I was saying, that to Jesus, the Father's word is the Tree of Life, because Jesus obeys. "My food is to do the Father's will." John's gospel has repeated variations on this theme. Then I quoted Hebrews 5: Because of Jesus' obedience he got eternal life, and with our obedience to him we get also eternal life. Again, no suggestion of pray-reading, but rather obedience. The word becomes life not by repetitive shouting or "mastication" of letters but by obedience.
Heb 5:7-10 "In the days of His earthly life, Jesus offered up both [specific] petitions and [urgent] supplications [for that which He needed] with fervent crying and tears to the One who was [always] able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission toward God [His sinlessness and His unfailing determination to do the Father’s will]. Although He was a Son [who had never been disobedient to the Father], He learned [active, special] obedience through what He suffered. And having been made perfect [uniquely equipped and prepared as Savior and retaining His integrity amid opposition], He became the source of eternal salvation [an eternal inheritance] to all those who obey Him, being designated by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek." (AMP) He was heard, not because of volume or repetition but because of obedience. And now it's our turn.
Obedience, perfection, eternal life. It could hardly be more clear. It starts with Jesus and flows to us. Now, in 2 Cor 8, Paul says that the sign of obedience is to share with others. Again, Paul says it started with Jesus: "He was rich but for our sakes he became poor." And then Luke has people selling what they have, and laying the proceeds at the apostles' feet (note well that Peter still has "no silver or gold" in Acts 3:6, but gave it all to the poor). If you go back and re-read 2 Cor 8 in this light, along with Paul's many epistolic exhortations for the poor of Jerusalem, you see what "God's economy" probably meant: "Give, and it shall be given to you; pressed down, shaken, and running over." ~Luke 6:38
(And I cannot overstress on this forum, that this proposed giving is NOT funding Hank Hanegraaf's his-and-hers Lexus', or Timothy Lee's Motor Home business. These shysters are soooo obvious when you know what to look for. For example, Ravi Zacharias said that profits from the Touch of Eden massage parlour in Alpharetta were for the furtherance of the gospel, just like WL & DCP said about his son's Daystar.)