How To Know Jesus Christ

[EphremHagos]

Drawn through the powerful witness of the ever-valid and reliable works (works that speak much louder and clearer than words) climaxing at the vision-producing, glorious death on the cross (John 14: 15-21), one can restore the long displaced SELF-PORTRAIT OF JESUS CHRIST. This is the very hard-to-understand “mystery of the Gospel”, as directly revealed by Jesus Christ, barely known even by the Apostles and still available for firsthand and personal appreciation or experience through the unique portrait based on the available preliminary and final evidence of works of God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ!
Our understanding of the glory in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, contrary to the run of the mill, conventional counterpart, can be fully restored to its Biblical grandeur through fine-drawing with what is defined, developed and promised in “the books of Moses and in the writings of the prophets”, indeed, as well-advised, (Luke 24: 25-27; John 20:9) according to the following terms of reference:

• The “tree of life”: God-reliance as opposed to self-reliance (Gen. 2);
• The bush on fire but not burning up: God’s life-giving Spirit versus useless matter (Ex. 3: 1-15);
• The bronze snake on a tree: Spirit versus matter (Num. 21: 4-9);
• The Law concerning unsolved murders: ritual of washing of hands in public (Deut. 21: 1-9);
• The Law of same-day burial of a body hanging on a post: “curse” against violation (Deut. 21:22);
• The terms and seal of the “new covenant”: knowledge of God (Jer. 31: 31-34; Matt. 26: 26-29);
• The timely outpouring and work of the Holy Spirit as promised: revealing of Christ’s “glory” (Joel 2: 28-32; Zech. 14: 1-9; John 3: 14-15; 7: 37-39; 10: 17-18; 14: 15-21; 16: 5-15)
Therefore, familiarity with the witness of preliminary and final, vision-bearing works (see below), which no one can afford to be without, is the exclusive basis for knowing God and/or Jesus Christ and “believing” (John 1:50-51; 19: 34-35); accompanied by “being born again” (John 3: 1-21) or “life in all its fullness” (Ibid, 10:10, 34-38) or “complete happiness” (Ibid, 16: 23-24) or “eternal life” (John 17:3)!



NO EVIDENCE OF WORKS

PRELIMINARY
1 Fixing the day of death (Matt. 26: 1-5)
2 Fixing the hour of death (John 12: 27)
3 Identification for arrest (John 18: 1-9)
4 Self-surrender for arrest (John 18: 5-11)
5 Self-incrimination for death sentence (Matt. 26: 57-68
John 18: 19-24)
6 Waiver of Appeal of death sentence (John 19: 8-16)

FINAL
7 Authority over death (“right to die”) (Matt. 27:50)
John 19:30
8 Authority over life (“right to life”) (Matt. 27: 51-56
John 19: 31-37)

CONCLUSION: The defining moment of Jesus Christ is His death on the cross as the making of perfection or “source of life” (John 5:26) or “eternal salvation” (Heb. 5:9)!

(Suggestions on other options, if any, are most welcome!)

[UrbanMonk]

CONCLUSION: The defining moment of Jesus Christ is His death on the cross as the making of perfection or “source of life” (John 5:26) or “eternal salvation” (Heb. 5:9)!

(Suggestions on other options, if any, are most welcome!)


Life doesn't come from death. Death comes from death, and life come from life. Life and waking and resurrection are synonymous. Death and sleep and crucifixion are synonymous.

Otherwise, you'd be supporting a death cult(ure), and encouraging us to drink the Kool-aid...somehow wishing that life comes from death. No. Life comes in spite of death just as truth comes in spite of lies. Truth does not come from lies.

[EphremHagos]

Life doesn't come from death. Death comes from death, and life come from life. Life and waking and resurrection are synonymous. Death and sleep and crucifixion are synonymous.

Otherwise, you'd be supporting a death cult(ure), and encouraging us to drink the Kool-aid...somehow wishing that life comes from death. No. Life comes in spite of death just as truth comes in spite of lies. Truth does not come from lies.

Life depends on one’s motive for death!

The five closing verses in Matt. 16: 13-28, on the blueprint of the church about to be built on the “rock foundation” of Jesus Christ’s divine identity to be defined upon his death, have a different version from yours.

24. “If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget self, carry his cross, and follow me.
25. For whoever wants to save his own life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26. Will a person gain anything if he wins the whole world but loses his life? Of course not! There is nothing he can give to regain his life.
27. For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will repay everyone according to his deeds.
28. I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man come as King.”

AMEN!

Yes, these are hard words to understand, accept and live by except by prayer and study. The number of those “who did not die before they saw the Son of Man as King”, though precious few at first, has been increasing over time. Who does not want to be in that number? Only “enemies of the cross of Christ” will challenge his words.

[UrbanMonk]

Life depends on one’s motive for death!


The thing is, the kind of death you are advocating and the kind of death Jesus advocated are not the same. Yours is to drink the kool-aid...so-to-speak. It's a death wish that would accomplish nothing. Its an attempt to "pay" for some kind of salvation. Its the death of the body, rather than the death of sin...a mental state of mind which manifests a body instead of the Son of God.

His (Jesus') kind of "death" is to drink of the waters of life. His is the death of the ego...that false pseudo-mind that manifests all of humanity...otherwise known as the "prodigal Son". This means the death of the concept of personhood...the death of the desire to be different or special in any way...the death of the "death wish" that accomplishes nothing. Jesus died to "Jesus", and rose to Christ. Jesus died to manhood and rose to Godhood. Jesus died to death, and rose as LIFE. To "die" is to decide. To decide is to be "chosen".

Conversely, the death of our "self" as a "man" accomplishes something. When we are utterly "dead" to "sin", we will awake to the fact that we are the Son of God. Any other "death" that does not yield this end, is simply to be undecided about whether we want to embrace the truth, or continue to defy it. Resurrection comes the moment we "die" to our "self" as not-the-son-of-god.

In brief, Jesus "died" long before he went to the cross. This means he had already experienced the resurrection...before he walked out of a tomb. The latter was a demonstration of the power of the former.

[EphremHagos]

The thing is, the kind of death you are advocating and the kind of death Jesus advocated are not the same. Yours is to drink the kool-aid...so-to-speak. It's a death wish that would accomplish nothing. Its an attempt to "pay" for some kind of salvation. Its the death of the body, rather than the death of sin...a mental state of mind which manifests a body instead of the Son of God.

His (Jesus') kind of "death" is to drink of the waters of life. His is the death of the ego...that false pseudo-mind that manifests all of humanity...otherwise known as the "prodigal Son". This means the death of the concept of personhood...the death of the desire to be different or special in any way...the death of the "death wish" that accomplishes nothing. Jesus died to "Jesus", and rose to Christ. Jesus died to manhood and rose to Godhood. Jesus died to death, and rose as LIFE. To "die" is to decide. To decide is to be "chosen".

Conversely, the death of our "self" as a "man" accomplishes something. When we are utterly "dead" to "sin", we will awake to the fact that we are the Son of God. Any other "death" that does not yield this end, is simply to be undecided about whether we want to embrace the truth, or continue to defy it. Resurrection comes the moment we "die" to our "self" as not-the-son-of-god.

In brief, Jesus "died" long before he went to the cross. This means he had already experienced the resurrection...before he walked out of a tomb. The latter was a demonstration of the power of the former.

As the unique way of knowing Jesus Christ, what I am advocating is nothing less than the basic “Law” of God –the cornerstone of the “new covenant” (Jer. 31: 33), viz.: the supremacy of “life-giving Spirit” over the utterly “useless power of man” as ultimately demonstrated for envisioning and firsthand experience at Christ’s “going back to the place where he was before”. Such a public event was anticipated to take place (as it, indeed, did) at the powerful and supernatural death of Jesus Christ on the cross (John 6: 62-63; 8: 21-28; 19; 30-37) strictly according to the books of Moses and the writings of the prophets (Luke 24: 25-27).

In other words, such is the climax of God’s self-revelation as “I Am Who I Am” progressing from the image of God or “life-giving breath” and the “tree of life” for the first man (Gen. 1:26; 2: 7-9); the self-sufficient fire coming from the middle of a bush without consuming it (Ex. 3: 1-15); and the specific terms and seal of the “new covenant” (Jer. 31: 31-34; Matt. 26: 26-29).

I pray that such a mutual testing of our ideas is not in vain! AMEN.

[UrbanMonk]

Such a public event was anticipated to take place (as it, indeed, did) at the powerful and supernatural death of Jesus Christ on the cross (John 6: 62-63; 8: 21-28; 19; 30-37) strictly according to the books of Moses and the writings of the prophets (Luke 24: 25-27).

In other words, such is the climax of God’s self-revelation as “I Am Who I Am” progressing from the image of God or “life-giving breath” and the “tree of life” for the first man (Gen. 1:26; 2: 7-9); the self-sufficient fire coming from the middle of a bush without consuming it (Ex. 3: 1-15); and the specific terms and seal of the “new covenant” (Jer. 31: 31-34; Matt. 26: 26-29).

If words were magic, you could be a worlock.

[EphremHagos]

If words were magic, you could be a worlock.



A warlock (if that is the correct spelling for "worlock") is actually an evil imitation of the "real thing". Vision of the truth is always about "wonderful and marvellous things that we know nothing about" (Jer. 33:3). Yes, truth is stranger than fiction!

[headheart]

A warlock (if that is the correct spelling for "worlock") is actually an evil imitation of the "real thing".

Warlock - From the Old English wærloga; "oath-breaker" or "deceiver". :ahem:

Although some modern practitioners of witchcraft identify themselves as 'warlocks', many avoid this term and/or find it offensive. Wiccans in particular consider it to be a pejorative term, meaning "oath-breaker". Wiccans use the term "warlock" to mean one who has been banished from a coven, either for revealing secrets, or for breaking coven laws.

However, in many forms of Traditional Satanism, with its strong association to histrionics and counter-cultural "shock value," the term "warlock" is embraced and employed as the primary title for a male member of the coven.

From: Wikipedia - Warlock (((read more (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warlock))))

[EphremHagos]

Warlock - From the Old English wærloga; "oath-breaker" or "deceiver". :ahem:


Yes, indeed, anyone who knows Jesus Christ, firsthand and personally, is completely beyond the grips of the Devil and His powers over death relinquished for good right at the time of Christ's diacritical death on the cross.

I, for one, know Jesus Christ as such and have reason to praise His name forever!