 and liberty can be self-attained … by what we s...){kind=link}
by what we say,
by what we do,
by what we pay,
by what we offer,
by what we confess,
by what we give,
by what we do right,
by how well we repent,
by what we align ourselves to or how good we do these prescripts of religion.
The Gospel is straightforward
John 1:11-13 makes it very clear.
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
I guess there are two operative words in what John is saying.
Receive. And believe.
Receive, in this sentence, is the Greek word is paralambánō, which means para - to be properly near, beside or close. It is coupled with lambánō - to take or lay hold of, to claim or make your own, to carry away, admit, receive, choose.
It is not of our own accord, not what we do or did right. Instead, it is all about what God (Jesus) did right.
I have written a lot about receiving (here, here and elsewhere on my blog), which is the primary word throughout the ministry of Yah’shua. You see, it is all about relationship and receiving what is given, not unlike the relationship that exists in a marriage … give and receive … receive and embrace … embrace and cherish.
Receiving is a free choice, a willful action. It is the reaction of deciding or favouring one or the other of the possibilities presenting itself.
Believe, in this sentence, is the Greek word pisteuō, which means to be persuaded to be true, to credit, to be confident, fidelity, to entrust something upon someone.
It’s all about what He did
He came (erchomai), meaning to come from one place to another, and the word is used both of persons arriving and of those returning.
God came in flesh for His treasured possession.
This very treasured possession (man), made in His image, once rejected this original form or design of the Maker that enabled him to take dominion (see this post on being without form). Instead, after being led out of this captivity and being offered His Grace, the treasured possession preferred to follow an impossible recipe to attain life.
But the Maker, Life Himself, put an end to that same recipe by coming to His own in the image of what He had made and He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances against the treasured possession, completely. (Col 2:14)
And now
And now all that the treasured possession needs to do, is to exercise his or her own liberty in choice.
And when we choose
And those who receive, He gave power …
[The Greek word used for power here, is exousia with 4 very essential elements -
1. power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases,
2. physical and mental power,
3. the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege),
4. the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)]
… to become the heirs (the children of God) of Life Himself. This is the inheritance of the heirs of God.
Even though what John is saying here is extremely loaded on the one hand, it is also extremely simple on the other.
Uncomplicated
The Gospel is as simple as receiving.
It is as simple as that.
It is as simple as one word …
Love!
Love who?
He has a name. And it is not the universe or any other freaky, artificial, religious, man-made god.
His Name is Yah-is-the-Savior! (the Hebrew word for save is yāšaʿ, which means to be liberated, to be saved, to be made victorious …)
Hear Him.
Receive Him!
In doing so, you are born of God!
You are bestowed with power!
HalleluYah!
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