Spiritual Blindness
(No.
25 pg. 1-15)
September
19, 2015
By
C. H. James
Teaching
Objective:
To remove the scales
that cover the eyes of fellow brethren so they see the great truths and revelations
found in God’s word, those that heretofore have gone unnoticed or
misunderstood.
Central text: 2
Corinthians 4:4
2 Corinthians 4:4
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which
believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image
of God, should shine unto them.
Confusion Or
Clarity
Often in life, for
various reasons, we’re tempted to turn a blind eye to the wrong doings of
family and friends. We appease our conscience by making excuses for them. Often
we’re tempted to ignore or justify the poor behavior of our children, our peers
and others with whom we share a close relationship. We often fail to
acknowledge the error found in our schools, country, business or church because
we have a personal bias.
This same blindness
causes us to miss or overlook biblical inconsistencies and errors planted in
our system of beliefs by our spiritual leaders and/or denomination. We also may
be inclined to gloss over any scriptural text that might make us feel
uncomfortable, texts that focus on our own failure to comply with God’s word.
Sometimes, when
examining, reading or hearing the bible we come upon texts that seem confusing
or ambiguous. When that happens, we simply roll on past, thinking it’s a mystery,
biblical error, or too complicated to understand and so, we promptly forget it.
It’s only our spiritual blindness that keeps us from seeing error received in
faulty, hand-me-down teaching. It’s blindness that keeps us from confirming its
validity. We fail to test the spiritual food received from their hand or
consider that it might be tainted. Why?
1 John 4:1
4 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of
God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Timothy 2:15
15 Study
to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 3:16
16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Philippians 2:12
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always
obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling.
Rather than taking the
responsibility for our own spiritual health and direction, we prefer to remain
ignorant, allowing our church or denomination to transport us safely into God’s
kingdom. We allow them to tell us what to believe and so, we sit back on our
pew and enjoy the work free, study free ride. This traditional vessel may have
carried many of our family members, both living and dead before us, so we
think, why not just close our eyes and leave the driving to others who claim to
know the way?
Our blind dedication to
tradition, coupled with our own church driven denominational pride, may produce
in us and obstinate attitude, one that refuses to consider any other teaching
or accept any spiritual challenge to our presently held doctrinal position.
Even when a challenge is accepted, those challenged often begin to search the
scriptures for any half-truth out of context, evidence that may be used to
prove them right, and the challenger wrong. In these cases it appears that
being right is more important than finding the truth.
John 17:17
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
If the search had been
an honest one, then the Holy Spirit would be credited as the teacher and the
students he taught, those with opposing views, will have come to agree with each
other.
1 Corinthians 1:10
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be
no divisions among you; but that ye be
perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Read: Ephesians 4:17-25
Ephesians 4:17-25
17 This I say therefore, and testify in the
Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of
their mind,
18 Having
the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance
that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
19 Who being past feeling have given
themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But ye have not so learned Christ;
21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in
Jesus:
22 That ye put off concerning the former
conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be
renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which
after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour:
for we are members one of another.
Example:
One such, so called
mystery, is labeled, “the trinity” and many believe it’s not meant to be
understood. But if we fail to understand the trinity, we’ll forever be confused
about, who is who, when dealing with the subject of God, the same subject we
call theology. Failure here could lead to doubt or disbelief. At the very
least, it will have a negative impact on our faith. Remember, without faith, it
is impossible to please God.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to
please him: for he that cometh to God must believe
that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
We’re saved by grace
through faith and while grace is God’s free gift to everyone, it can only be
unwrapped and accessed through faith.
Ephesians 2:8
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God:
After all, faith comes
from hearing the word of God. When we understand God’s word, our faith is
increased and conversely, when we fail to find the simple logic of God’s word,
and its harmony, we lose faith, replacing it with doubt and by so doing,
jeopardize our relationship with God.
In truth, the trinity is
easy to understand, it’s simply common sense and though the word, “trinity”
is not found in scripture, its principle
is clearly revealed in the baptism of Jesus and the declarations of the Apostle
John in 1 John 5:7.
Matthew 3:16, 17
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up
straightway out of the water: and,
lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased.
Do you see it; three
persons in three different places!
1 John 5:7
7 For there
are three that bear record in heaven, the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
It is re-affirmed again
by Christ himself in John’s gospel.
John 17:11
11 And now I am no more in the world, but
these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own
name those whom thou hast given me, that
they may be one, as we are.
John 17:21
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent
me.
Note:
Jesus is praying for the
disciples to be one in the same way that he and his Father are one. Not, to be
joined at the hip, but in the same unity they are.
God is not the author of
confusion, but there would be a great deal of biblical confusion if we don’t
understand the function of the trinity.
1 Corinthians 14:33
33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the
saints.
If we believe God to be one person who reveals
himself to mankind through three separate identities, confusion lies ahead and
with it, doubt and after doubt has done its work, disbelief will move in and
take over. God is not one person, he’s the supreme triune authority of three,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit and each may rightfully share the title of “God.”
Afraid To
Test It
Why are we so afraid to
test the bible? I’ve been studying the bible for over half a century and
without reservation, I can say, the more I’ve learned, the greater my certainty
that it truly is, the word of God. There is no other book on earth like it.
Perhaps the reason we
fear is because we think we might find something
within the bible that requires us to make a change in our life, a change we
have no desire to make. It is likely this “something”
is contrary to God’s will, something
sinful. If so, we may have a pre-planned justification, one that provides us
with the appropriate excuse we need to continue violating our own conscience or
hiding this transgression from others. Our conduct may temporarily hide our sin
from men, but it won’t hide it from God.
James 4:17
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do
good, and doeth it not, to him it is
sin.
Matthew 10:28
28 And fear not them which kill the body,
but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Some simply fear the
bible and so, refuse to study it, preferring to let others explain it to them.
They’re afraid they might discover some glaring mistake that will cause them to
discard it as a myth, bringing down their hope for everlasting life in the
glorious kingdom of God. Today, it’s easy to find a teacher or preacher that will
confirm all the things we want to believe.
Isaiah 30:9-11
9 That this is a rebellious people, lying
children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:
10 Which
say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right
things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out
of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel
to cease from before us.
2 Timothy 4:3, 4
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts shall they heap
to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables.
Listen carefully to the
messages preached by many of our present day preachers and you’ll discover that
what they have to say is all about what God can do for us and little or nothing
about what we can do for him. It’s our spiritual blindness and our “itching
ears” that keep us from truly understanding what’s going on.
2 Corinthians 4:3, 4
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to
them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe
not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God,
should shine unto them.
The
Confusing Results Of False Doctrine
If we believe that God
is one person and attempt to interpret the bible through that understanding, we
will ultimately conclude that the bible is ambiguous nonsense written by fools.
Have I spoken too strongly? You be the judge!
The bible says that Jesus
was sent by his Father.
John 3:17
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the
world through him might be saved.
John 16:28
28 I
came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
If he and his Father are
the same person, how can he be sent to a different place? While Jesus was here,
wasn’t his Father in heaven?
Matthew 6:9
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed
be thy name.
Why did Jesus say to his
God, why hast thou forsaken me; can Jesus forsake himself?
Matthew 27:46
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried
with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
When Jesus was baptized,
he stood in the river Jordan, his Father spoke from heaven and the Spirit
descended in the form of a dove. Three persons in three different places.
Luke 3:21, 22
21 Now when all the people were baptized,
it came to pass, that Jesus also being
baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said,
Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
(Three
persons in three different places)
1 John 5:7
7 For there
are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy
Ghost: and these three are one.
(Not
one, not two, but three)
How can that be? Wasn’t
Jesus also God? Of course he was!
John 1:1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 20:28
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
1 Timothy 1:1
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the
commandment of God our Saviour, and
Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
Titus 1:3
3 But hath in due times manifested his word
through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;
Titus 2:10
Not
purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
Titus 3:4
4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Jude 25
25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now
and ever. Amen.
Can you imagine how
ridiculous it would be to suggest that Jesus can stand at the right hand of the
Father if Jesus and his Father are one in the same? How does one stand beside
oneself? How could we possibly grasp the meaning of John 15:26 or John 16:7?
John 15:26
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I
will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he
shall testify of me:
John 16:17
17 Then said some of his disciples among
themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall
not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
How can you go to your
father or come from your father if you and your father are the same person?
Ridiculous! If Jesus is sending the Comforter, i.e. the Holy Spirit to his
disciples and he’s coming from the Father, then how can these three, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit be anything but three separate and distinct spiritual
beings?
Note:
Though the Holy Spirit
is addressed as “he,” we should note that in the Hebrew and the Greek, “he,” is
not gender specific. Ref. Strongs Heb #1931 and Gk #846.
Think of how silly it
would be to imagine Jesus standing at the right hand of himself.
Romans 8:34
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ
that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Ephesians 1:20
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he
raised him from the dead, and set him at
his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Colossians 3:1
3 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek
those things which are above, where Christ
sitteth on the right hand of God.
Hebrews 1:3
3 Who being the brightness of his glory,
and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of
his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Hebrews 8:1
8 Now of the things which we have spoken
this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
Hebrews 10:12
12 But this man, after he had offered one
sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on
the right hand of God;
Hebrews 12:2
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God.
1 Peter 3:22
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and
authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
Think of Jesus calling
out to God from the cross, “Why have you forsaken me,” when the “you” he’s
calling out to, is himself.
Matt 27:46
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried
with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
The author of the bible
is God; this is why the bible is called the “word of God.” It was written to us
so that we could gain an understanding of him and he could reveal his message
to us. Neither the messenger nor his message was intended to confuse us, but
rather, to bring light to our understanding.
Note:
Jesus made it clear that
his Father is greater than he and that his Father is also his God. We should,
at this point, recognize that the Father is the most prominent member of the
Godhead.
John 20:17
17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for
I am not yet ascended to my Father:
but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your
Father; and to my God, and your God.
Revelation 3:12
12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar
in the temple of my God, and he
shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven
from my God: and I will write upon
him my new name.
Because we were
fashioned by God, he knows the inner workings of our mind better than we do. He
knows that if we attempt to see him as one person it will lead to confusion and
confusion, if left uncorrected, will lead to disbelief.
The word, “God” in
Hebrew is Elohiym, a plural. It conveys the understanding of an inclusion
within it, of more than one. However, there is only one true supreme triune
authority in existence with sufficient unity to speak perfectly, as one and
it’s known as the trinity and its representative to us is Jesus.
Colossians 1:19
19 For it pleased the Father that in him should
all fulness dwell;
Colossians 2:9
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of
the Godhead bodily.
There are many words in
the English language, used in the singular, that approximate the same idea of
plural inclusion, words like family, group, team, etc, but none convey with it
the message of perfect unity. Only the word “Elohiym” carries this unique
message.
When God speaks in the
first person as “me,” the pronoun “me” fails to render the same meaning
normally associated with it.
Exodus 20:3
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
When this word “me”
pertains to God as translated into Hebrew, it becomes “Yechdiyahaw” (Ref.
Strongs Heb dictionary #3165) and combines two other Hebrew words from which
its meaning is extracted. These words are “Yachad” meaning to be one, i.e.
joined or united (Ref. Strongs #3161 and 3162) and “Yahh” meaning, the same,
and this word, “Yahh” is widely used also as the sacred name of God, ref.
Psalms 68.4. (Yah, is translated “Jah” in English bibles.)
Psalms 68:4
4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name:
extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his
name JAH, and rejoice before him.
Conclusion
We’ll never know the
worth of a recipe until we taste the end product. Likewise, we’ll never be sure
of the spiritual food served, unless we first taste it for ourselves. As
Christians, we must test the spiritual food no matter who prepared it for us.
If we fail to study the
word, we’ll never experience the joy of discovery. We may have read the same
verse or text many times, but there may come a moment when the Holy Spirit
illuminates our mind and we see and understand it as though for the first time.
The adventure of biblical study is without equal, for it is impossible to
discover all the unsearchable, spiritual riches contained in God’s word, but
our Teacher, Comforter and Guide will open up to us those that we search for,
if we will simply seek him and ask.
Jeramiah 29:13
13 And ye
shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your
heart.
James 1:5-8
5 If any
of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind
and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall
receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all
his ways.
Final Note:
Language has some minor
obstacles when it’s translated into another tongue. Certain cultural changes
must be taken into account as well. When these are not taken into
consideration, confusion or misunderstanding may occur.
One of these is the way
pronouns and adjectives are used in reference to the triune deity we call God.
The pronouns of he, him, me, etc. are often used when God is spoken of or when God is speaking, as
in the previously mentioned example found in Exodus 20:3 (“me”).
Exodus 20:3
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
The word “God,” i.e.
Elohiym is a plural and the three within this Godhead are addressed in the
masculine gender as “he” or “him” or as Father and Son. This is especially true
when this trinity, who together bear witness in heaven, speak as one, the
oneness of absolute unity.
It should also be noted
that in the English language, “he” is also used when gender is unspecified or a
living being is without gender, such as the Holy Spirit.
Example:
“He who desires but acts
not, breeds pestilence.” (William Blake)
Some no doubt, will find
this concept difficult to fully comprehend. It would make more logical sense if
words like “they,” “them,” or “we” were used, as opposed to “he,” “him” or
“me.” How can we reduce this conflict of concepts into terms that are easy to
understand? This, is not beyond our ability to grasp. We’ve been able to
understand similar biblical concepts without any confusion.
Example:
The church is called the
body (singular) of Christ and as such, is viewed as one body having many parts.
We might also remember that the church (singular) universal, is the betrothed
of Christ. Therefore, if the church, the intended bride of Christ were to speak,
the pronouns used would have to be “she,” “her” or “me.”
Consider also that those
within the church are called to speak the same thing (as one), have the same
mind (as one), and be perfectly joined together (as one), sharing the same
judgement (as one) as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:10.
1 Corinthians 1:10
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be
no divisions among you; but that ye be
perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Jesus prayed that his
disciples would be one, one in unity, in the same way that he and the Father
are one in unity.
John 17:11
11 And now I am no more in the world, but
these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own
name those whom thou hast given me, that
they may be one, as we are.
John 17:21
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent
me.
We will only discover
these things when the scales fall from our spiritual eyes and our blindness of
mind is lifted. Then and only then, shall the Spirit illuminate our understanding.
This will, most likely come, at a time in our life, when we search for God with
all our heart.
Jeramiah 29:13
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when
ye shall search for me with all your heart.
You see, though the word
“God” appears to be singular, like the word “group,” it conveys the message of
more than one within it. The use of pronouns when studied, informs us of the
absolute unity of those represented by this word, those who alone may
legitimately wear the title of “God.”
There are many other
wonderful truths that now await our discovery, truths that will unlock things
we’ve never seen before. I have coined a new word for this type of search, a
search based on biblical common sense and I call it “Theologics.”
Happy Hunting!
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