THE ANTS [Welcome to
C.C.! Well- first read below]
Just a note for my new readers [I hear we have some] I have
spoken- written- documented- given names, addresses- of actual crimes committed
by members of the CCPD- for 5 years now. The Justice Dept. has all of this- as
well as the authorities in Texas [attorney Gen. Etc.] Yes- I have been ‘blowin’
the trumpet in Zion for a while- God bless.
ON VIDEO [verses below]
Ant farm
God is the gardener
Apostle
Small things
Master Builder
Listen- preachers
[verses below- at the bottom I added a couple of chapters
from a book I wrote years ago]
The link at the
bottom is the story of a kid- at work- and the cops came in looking for another
man. The kid’s name was the best they could do- it started with the same letter
as the suspect [really].
So- the cops went to his work assaulted him and busted him.
They realized later it was the wrong kid.
In order to cover up their nonstop criminal activity- they
planted drugs on him [which is now a known fact].
They terrorized the workplace- yet- 6 witnesses gave sworn
testimony that it happened.
This was all brought out in a public forum.
The cops then had a grudge against the kid- because after
all- they went after him- and might get in trouble for it.
As the case progressed- the final result was all of this was
revealed- and the cops- till this day say ‘prove it’.
They work hand in hand with the DA and prosecutor- so- what
can they prove if you’re dealing with criminals?
This happened here in South Texas – the link is below- and
they now go after the kid- family- wives- children- the only way you could
describe this is absolute terrorism on a scale that the average person would
never believe.
God job ‘law officers’.
Note- my daughter recently was pulled over for an expired
inspection sticker- she got a ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR FINE.
‘John- how could they do that”?
Their cops after all.
The other link is actual footage of a CCPD cop at
Whataburger- he’s eating and gets a call from dispatch- emergency domestic
violence. You know- we had a woman killed here because the family said the cops
ignored her plea for help the very day she was murdered.
So- the cop tells dispatch he’s eating- and does not go.
Other witnesses heard it- and it became public. The officer-
in order to defend the fact that he could care less if the woman was murdered-
Later said ‘I was so sick- at the point of passing out- if I
did not stay and eat- I would not be able to defend the poor woman’.
What an absolute- total- complete criminal organization we
are dealing with.
In the next week I give the case of a local cop who killed a
street guy in the back of his cop car.
It happened here in Flour Bluff.
This same cop has beaten- threatened to kill others- it was
reported to me by Albert Hoffman the cop said ‘disappear- or I will make you
disappear’ [meaning he will actually murder Albert]
This street guy was murdered here at the Paris Apartments
off SPID.
Witnesses testified the cop strangled him to death in the
back of the cop car.
The guy was beat up- strangulation marks on his neck- he
could have had a bullet in the back of his head for all we know-
Yet-
The medical examiner said he died of- quote ‘Asthma’.
The mayor- commissioners- and Police chief all know about
the crimes- and even murders- committed by cops.
‘How do they deal with it John’?
Those who report it get the shit beat out of them- by Corpus
Christi cops.
All I can tell you is I would be afraid- if I were living in
another state- if your thinking of Corpus Christi- RUN.
You might wind up hanging in a Texas jail cell- like Sandra
Bland.
Down the road I’ll get to the rate of hangings that take
place in our jails here- it’s off the charts.
‘Are they hanging themselves’- Yeah- just like Judge
Greenwell shot himself- ya think?
NOTE- You see me talk/write on cop issues a lot. Yesterday
[as I write] a cop was arrested for 3 murders.
He was an older man- that had a restraining order put
against him in a divorce case.
Here’s the link-
As I watched the news- I thought ‘what could have set him
off like this’?
He basically went on a shooting spree- and said ‘I’m going
to commit suicide- by cop’.
As I watched the news- in the divorce case- the ex also
‘decided’ after many years of marriage- to accuse the father of sexually
molesting their kids.
Now- this is indeed a common- and proven to be false
accusation in the majority of the cases where the ‘Jezebel’ wife – simply makes
up the story [yes- proven- in the majority of cases].
We had a judge shot in the head here a few months back- by a
girlfriend.
His name was Jack Hunter. The girlfriend called 911- she
said ‘Oh my- Jack shot himself’.
On the 911 call in the background you heard the judge yell
‘no I did not’.
She has since been put in prison.
Her past?
She falsely accused her ex of raping her children- she lied.
So- it just made me think- maybe what set the cop off was
the fact that his ex did the same thing.
It’s an easy charge to make- because even if it’s proved
untrue- the mother hardly ever faces any charges for the false accusation.
When I was in New Jersey a few years back- I read a case
where an ex-wife did this- but the writer was complaining that as they looked
into the case- the prosecutor knew the child lied- but went forward anyway- a
‘Mike Nifong’ type guy.
So- false accusation is never right- whether it’s against a
cop- or anyone.
Being I’m writing- might as well tell this one [you know- we
have so many in Corpus Christi- it would take a volume to tell them all].
I read a news article- a local law entity [sheriff? Or
Police dept.?] Revealed to the other agencies that one of their officers had a
20 year ‘record’ of falsifying evidence [Hmm?].
So- because of a new law- the chiefs have to report it- you
know- it can be problematic.
So- in the article it said the guy falsified stuff for about
20 years.
The amazing thing was whatever law dept. he’s working for
now [yes- still going strong]
Said ‘yeah- we have to report it- but were trying to make
sure he stops now’.
It was something to that effect.
I thought what about
all the victims of his ‘Brian Williams’ tendencies [you know ‘I saved the puppy
from a house fire’- ‘I mean I saved 2 puppies’ type thing]
The problem we have in Corpus Christi [rated number 2 most
corrupt- in the whole USA folks].
Is they treat these crimes- committed by cops- as an ‘in
house’ work place problem.
No- they are crimes- and if you have a cop that you know has
been falsifying thousands of reports- simply lying- then you don’t say ‘well-
were hoping he slows down a bit’.
No- you fire the guy.
http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2014/12/04/texas-cop-resigns-after-using-choke-hold-on-woman-videotaping-arrest/ Here’s another Corpus case that made it to
national media-Notice how the cops lied about why they did this.
They attacked the girl because she was filming- they lied
and said they attacked her because she was a suspect.
They then tried to get rid of the video- the guy resigned
because the video went viral.
This city is right
next to Corpus Christi.
They got the wrong guy- then planted evidence anyway.
Then- after the 6 witnesses risked their lives in giving
sworn statements- the cops said ‘prove it’.
VERSES-
Luke
17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should
come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with
observation:Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Luke 17:22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.
Luke 17:23 And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
Luke 17:24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.
Luke 17:25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
Proverbs 30:24 There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
Proverbs 30:25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
Proverbs 30:26 The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
Proverbs 30:27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
Proverbs 30:28 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.
Proverbs 30:29 There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:
Proverbs 30:30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
Proverbs 30:31 A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
Proverbs 30:32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by
interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
Jn. 9:7
John
15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.John 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
8 Wherefore
he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts
unto men.
9 (Now
that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower
parts of the earth?
10 He that
descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he
might fill all things.)
11 And he
gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers;
12 For the
perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ:
13 Till we
all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we
henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they
lie in wait to deceive;
15 But
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the
head, even Christ:
16 From
whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every
joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every
part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Eph. 4
22 After
these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he
tarried with them, and baptized.
23 And
John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water
there: and they came, and were baptized.
24 For
John was not yet cast into prison.
25 Then
there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about
purifying.
26 And
they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond
Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men
come to him.
27 John
answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
28 Ye
yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am
sent before him.
29 He that
hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which
standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice:
this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
30 He must
increase, but I must decrease.
These are a couple of chapters from a small book I wrote
years ago-
CHAPTER 3
I just finished
doing a teaching on the radio on the book of Exodus. We covered the story of
the children of Israel
as they progressed in time from a few people into a whole nation of people. If
you remember your bible well, you can follow the original desire for God to
have a family of people who would inhabit earth and live in fellowship with
him. As man sinned and rebelled against God he became separated from God, but
the desire to build and make a name for himself still existed within man. The
story of the tower
of Babel
There is a popular commercial on TV at this
time that shows an average Joe living high on the hog in order to keep up a
certain image in the community. It shows ‘Joe’ as possessing a lot of things in
order to live up to the image of the people around him. At the end of the
commercial the question is asked ‘how does Joe manage to live like this?’. The
answer is ‘he’s in debt up to his eyeballs’. This little commercial captures in
a nutshell the attitude of trying to create an image of ourselves so others
would think more highly of us, or so we can feel vindicated in the sight of our
critics. Now many times in modern ministry and ‘church’ building we give in to
this desire without even realizing it. We build facilities or large
organizations in order to prove to those around us that we can really do this
thing [tower building mentality]. We seem to loose sight of the great reality
that Gods ‘institution’ or
‘organization’ which he uses to carry out his will is the church. It is a
family of people [a holy nation, temple, city, body] that God freely dwells in,
in order to advance his ‘cause’ throughout the earth.
When we
unconsciously develop systems of ministry that we feel are the ‘church’, that
is if we follow certain patterns and models of ministry and then begin to build
these entities with the belief that these models are actually ‘the church’ then
what we’ve done is transferred Gods true desire to build his kingdom [a rule in
the earth that would give glory to his image] and replaced it unconsciously
with a natural desire to build something that gives testimony to our image
[i.e.: ‘look what I’ve done, look at the big legacy I will leave when I’m
gone’]. Jesus warned the disciples that this desire to have authority and be
‘in charge’ of people would not be acceptable in true kingdom building. He was
showing us that this desire for success was nothing different than what already
exists in lost society. Many men sacrifice a lot in order to build institutions
or businesses. People regularly sacrifice their time and resources in order to
get their business going. Often times they even work in unity with many other
people [staff, employees] to accomplish their goal. Now I'm not saying this is
wrong in and of itself, there are many good businesses and institutions that
have started this way. But when we transfer this mindset into the church we can
confuse the energy and excitement that naturally comes with any true adventure
and begin building ‘at all costs’. We can loose sight of the ‘entity’ that God
is building and get caught up in the natural desire to ‘image’ build and become
sidetracked.
In extreme cases this actually leads to
abusive church situations where the leader[s] are so focused on building the
ministry that they begin to unconsciously manipulate people in order to fulfill
the vision. This is why it’s so important to see that the church exists as a
community of people in the earth whom God lives in and interacts with in
various ways in order to build his image in the earth. God wants the knowledge
of the glory of ‘the lord’ to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. The
‘tower’ that all men will see is the ‘Cross’. God will draw all men to the
image of his Son as opposed to some great edifice of man. Gods Spirit wars
against the natural desire in man to ‘legacy’ build to his own image. We as
believers need to reevaluate the motivations behind our outward enthusiasm to
‘press ahead’ at all costs. When we examine ourselves and make adjustments in
our thinking I believe God will allow us to participate in great works for his
name.
CHAPTER 4
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE UNDER
THE LOCAL CHURCH
Over the years
of seeing the freedom that we have in Christ, especially as it pertains to
functioning in church and ministry, I have met other believers who have seen
and grown in the same understanding that the lord has given us. I believe this
to be a natural process of the body of Christ coming to maturity. When the head
[Jesus] is communicating with the body [the church] you often find different
members seeing and functioning in the same truths, though they have never
personally met each other. Some of these experiences are lessons for the whole
church. Many times in trying to express truth there is a natural tendency for
fellow believers to respond in a unified way in defense of a wrong [or
misguided] way of seeing things. I remember sharing with a missionary family
how the New Testament teaches a greater freedom for the functioning of
missionaries/apostles than what we put on them today. I showed how Paul simply
operated under the spirits guidance and practiced giving and receiving in a
voluntary way with all the believers he was spending time with. I showed how
even though Paul was an apostle sent out of the church at Antioch [acts 13]
that this didn’t mean he was under some type of 501c3 entity at Antioch that he
was sending his tithes to in order to be in obedience to the ‘New Testament
pattern.’ If you read the story in acts all the apostles and believers
functioned as citizens of a heavenly city and saw themselves all equally as
part of this new community of Christ followers.
The idea that
Paul [or any other New Testament minister] had some type of structural
relationship with his ‘home church’ in the sense that he was sending tithes
back to his ‘home church’ on a regular basis is simply reading 21st
century American patterns into the story that doesn’t exist. You would think
that the missionary family would have rejoiced to have seen this truth, as it
would have given them freedom in moving forward in new ways in the kingdom. But
contrary they were offended in a sense because they truly felt the role of
tithing to a specific group of Christians who meet in a building in there area
was a New Testament pattern that must be adhered to. While its ok to give to
groups of Christians in this way, but to see this as a pattern that if violated
would bring the curse in Malachi upon a person is ridiculous. These are ways
that we confuse the spiritual temple of believers with the entity/501c3
structures that exist in ministry today. While the obtaining of the 501c3
status, or the purchasing of a building for believers to meet in is not
inherently wrong [remember, if its needed for mission it’s o.k.] but to then
view that as ‘local church’ which the missionary needs to tithe to in order to
be in obedience to the ‘local church’ is confusing the spiritual entity of Christ’s
body with the physical entity of American ministry.
When we view
‘ministry’ as a separate organization, we sacrifice the freedom to directly
build into people. I was driving through town one day with a friend and as we
passed by a certain business I mentioned that I needed to go in at a later time
to purchase some equipment. My friend asked why I needed it and I explained I
felt the Lord wanted me to buy it for a friend in order to help him in
ministry. He questioned why I would spend money on someone who had no type of
relationship with us, like a ‘part of our church/ministry’. I explained how
believers should be willing to spend time and money for the benefit of others
regardless of whether or not they are ‘part of our organization’ [by the way we
have no ‘organization’ that someone ‘joins’]. I should mention that the person
I wanted to spend the money on was one of our original friends/converts that we
worked with in the early days of ministry. So the benefit would be purely
spiritual, that is I would receive a reward from God in the sense that one of
‘our disciples’ would benefit directly from this purchase. Paul told the
Corinthians that he would gladly spend and be spent for them. He said the
fathers spend for the children, not the children for the fathers. He was
showing the attitude of building people up for their sole benefit, not simply
building staff or employees but giving yourself away solely for the benefit of
‘spiritual children’.
Many times people will unconsciously do the
things I advocate, without realizing it! Recently there have been many examples
of God working supernaturally in the area of finances. Many people who disagree
with my teaching on grace giving have actually been blessed by doing it the way
I teach it! People have been giving testimonies of how God would move on them
to freely give [apart from the tithe concept] and how after they obeyed his
voice to MEET THE NEED OF ANOTHER PERSON, versus ‘paying the tithe’ that the
Lord would move supernaturally on their behalf by another person [not
institution] being moved to give to them in return. I have been teaching this
for years! How when Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for ‘corban’ giving that he
told them their mindset of dedicating money to the temple [institution] caused
them to neglect giving directly to people [their parents]. So the recent
breakthrough in giving that people are experiencing is what I have been saying
all along. God wants us to give spontaneously to directly meet the needs of
people! I realize this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t also give regularly, but the
point is sometimes we reject what a persons saying [like me!] without realizing
that what their saying is right!
I should note something here; over the years I
have consistently taught and believed in the concept of giving as God leads.
There have been many times where the Lord would move on me to meet the needs of
people. Just a few days ago one of my homeless friends asked me if I was still
buying tents for people, I said sure. There was really no second thought or
feeling of ‘I already gave the required amount this week, and this is going out
of the way’. I simply felt it to be in keeping with the New Testament to give
to someone in need. A few weeks back I ran into one of the original homeless
friends that I met many years ago. The first thing he remembered and couldn’t
stop talking about was how when I first met him I was giving away clothes in
the winter to him and a bunch of other people. Theses simple acts of charity
are in keeping with the teaching of Jesus on giving. The New Testament says
‘give to him that asks of thee’ ‘if you have the ability to help your brother
and don’t how dwelleth the love of God in you’ ‘if someone comes to your door
in need and you don’t help, it profits nothing’ ‘let him who is not working get
a job so he MAY HAVE TO GIVE TO HIM THAT NEEDETH’.
All these verses [which I just paraphrased off
the top of my head, you’ll have to look them up for yourself] speak clearly to
the issue of God wanting us to give to meet the needs of others spontaneously
and freely. No sense of ‘I already tithed this week to the church’. This
legalistic mindset actually works against the spirit of New Testament giving. I
am not saying Christians shouldn’t give regularly for the functioning of
Christian ministry, I put aside money on a bi-weekly basis in order to fund
Christian works. It is because of my priority of doing this that enables me to
meet the needs of people when they come up.
I believe
Christians should regularly give to the work of the kingdom, I also believe
that many people would experience breakthrough in their giving if they truly
practiced the New Testament doctrine of grace giving. All the communities of
the New Testament [churches] gave this way. There simply was no tithing concept
taught to the gentile believers. The scripture says the Corinthians gathered on
the 1st day of the week and gave Paul an offering to BRING BACK TO
THE POOR SAINTS AT JERUSALEM. Do you see this ‘THE POOR SAINTS’. They were
giving to meet the needs of people here. We use these verses to tell Christians
if you put in the required amount on Sunday then you’ve met your obligation. We
distort scripture to fit into our way of seeing things. I believe its O.K. to
put money in the offerings on Sunday, many times the work of ‘building based’
churches is good. Supporting missionaries, planting churches and many other
good things. It’s just that we shouldn’t use this as an excuse to by pass all
the other instructions in the New Testament to freely give to others in need!
I want to note
something here, this is a good example of how are ‘seeing’ church as the Sunday
meeting as opposed to the corporate group affects us. The issue of ‘how much
should I put into the basket on Sunday’ was a NON ISSUE in the New Testament.
There were times where all the believers in a community [the church] gave in a
corporate way[ Acts 6, 1 Cor. 16] but there was no ‘Sunday church offering’
that all the ‘New Testament’ churches gave into. Why? Because the New Testament
churches are all the believers in any given community. The focus wasn’t ‘going
to church on Sunday’ that is our ‘thoughts’ or ways of seeing things [it’s O.K.
to go to church on Sunday] but the focus was a community of people living and
sharing on a daily basis. So when Paul writes these churches, or when Jesus
tells us to give to him in need, they are addressing people directly. It’s not
like the focus was on an institution. This is why ‘how much should we give, or
should Christians tithe?’ is not seen in the New Testament like we see this
question today. The bible speaks of ‘churches’ as communities of people; we speak
about them in terms of ‘the church I go to on Sunday’. This basic
misunderstanding of church causes us to hold onto a less than ideal view of
Christian giving.
CHAPTER 5
BUILDING THE CHURCH AROUND THE
PERSONA OF CHRIST, NOT MEN!
In the early
days of ministry I remember listening to some tapes on apostles and how they
build Gods church. Later I came to see ‘church planting’ as apostles [or
evangelists, or just Christians] going to areas and simply preaching Christ to
groups of people. After the people believed there was a natural development of
family and community that took place as Christ’s Spirit develops the body of
Christ. So the New Testament churches are simply bodies of believers in these
location’s who came to know Christ. God’s authority and the works of his
kingdom are simply a natural expression of Christ’s Spirit through his body. As
time progressed in church history people later developed all sorts of offices
and institutions that they incorporated into the church. Eventually people began
viewing the institution or 501c3 entity as a separate thing called ‘church’.
With this mindset people began seeing apostles and ministers
and people who plant these entities as ‘CHURCH PLANTERS’. Church planting then
began to be looked
facebook.com/john.chiarello.5
Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts-
re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. I deal with
issues at times that it would be beneficial for some of you to download and
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1 DAY AT A TIME
https://youtu.be/gac9xzcX2V0 1 day at a time
BREAKING NEWS- North Carolina was given a
deadline by the justice department to ‘correct’ it’s ‘bathroom law’ by today.
They just sued the Justice Dept.
ON VIDEO-
.I want watermelon
.Too many signs?
.Vehicle towed!
.Liberty coin
.Alexander the great
.Pastors, Deacons, Apostles
.Rock City Church
.5 fold ministry
.AA stuff, sponsors, relapse, etc.
.1 beer?
.North Bergen
.Never goin’ back again
PAST POSTS [verses below]
ROMANS 8-10
VIDEO- [I cover stuff on the
videos that are not in the post- here are a few]
(835)ROMANS 7:1-4 Paul uses the
analogy of a married woman ‘don’t you know that the law has dominion over a
person as long as he is alive’? If a married woman leaves her husband and
marries another man she is guilty of breaking the law of adultery. Now, if her
husband dies, she is free to marry another man. The act that freed her from sin
and guilt was death! Every thing else in the scenario stayed the same. She
still married another, she still consummated the new marriage. But because her
first husband died, she has no guilt. I always loved this analogy. For years I
wondered why these themes in scripture are for the most part not ‘imbedded’ in
the collective psyche of the people of God. We have spent so much time ‘proof
texting’ the verses on success and wealth, that we have overlooked the really
good stuff! Now Paul teaches that we have been made free from the law by the
‘death of our husband’ [Jesus] so we can ‘re-marry’. Who do we marry? Christ!
He has not only died to free us from the law, he also rose from the dead to
become our ‘husband’ [we are called the bride of Christ]. Paul connects the
death and resurrection of Jesus in this analogy. Both are needed for the true
gospel to be preached [1st Corinthians 15]. Notice how in this
passage Paul emphasizes ‘the death of Christ’s body’. The New Testament doesn’t
always make this distinction, but here it does. In the early centuries of
Christianity you had various debates over the nature and ‘substance’ of God and
Christ. The church hammered out various decrees and creeds that would become
the Orthodoxy of the day. Many of these are what you would call the ‘Ecumenical
councils’. These are the early councils [many centuries!] that both the eastern
[Orthodox church] and western [Catholic] churches would all accept. Some feel
that the early church fathers and Latin theologians [Tertullian, Augustine and
others] had too much prior influence from philosophy and the ‘forensic’
thinking of their time. They had a tendency to describe things in highly
technical ways. Ways that were prominent in the legal and philosophical
thinking of the West. Some of the eastern thinkers [Origen] had more of a Greek
‘flavor’ to their theologizing [Alexandria, named after Alexander the great, was
a city of philosophy many years prior to Christ. This city was at one time the
center of thinking in the East. That’s why Paul would face the thinkers at
Athens, they had a history in the east of Greek philosophy]. Well any way the
result was highly technical debates over the nature of God and Christ. The
historic church would finally decree that Christ had 2 natures, Human and
Divine. And that at the Cross the ‘humanity of Jesus’ died, but his ‘Deity’ did
not. I think Paul agreed by saying ‘we are free from the law by the death of
Christ’s Body’ here Paul distinguishes between the physical death of Jesus and
his Deity. Note- actually, Augustine would be in the same school as Origen.
Alexandrian.
(836)ROMANS 7: 5-13 ‘But now we are delivered from the law,
that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of the
Spirit, not in the oldness of the letter’. This is such a
[parts]
NOTE- Christianity in the first century was not born in a
vacuum.
Of course the major World View was Judaism- but the second-
very strong influence/philosophy of the day was Greek wisdom [thus my quote in
the last post ‘The Greeks seek wisdom’].
In the letter to the Colossians- the Apostle refutes
Asceticism- which was indeed a belief of the Greek philosophers.
Greek wisdom taught that the material realm was evil.
Way back about 6 centuries before Christ- you had the famous
Philosopher Socrates.
His most famous student was Plato.
And Plato’s most famous student was Aristotle.
When Socrates was put to death- because of his supposed bad
influence on the youth of his time [he taught them to questions stuff!].
It is reported that he calmly drank the Cyanide- because he
believed that when he would die- be released from his body [the so called evil
realm of matter] that he would finally ‘be free’.
Now- do Christians believe this?
Yes and no.
Because our bibles were written in Greek [which shows you
how strong the Greek influence effected the early church- our first New
Testaments were written in Greek- though the Roman Empire was the world Empire
of the day.
But Alexander the Great- the famed Greek conqueror who came
a few centuries before Christ- he instituted what we refer to as Helenization.
A form of conquering where you let the people you conquer
keep their culture- but you also use parts of your culture [in this case the
Greek language] to permeate the vanquished.
So- the Roman Empire of Jesus day [who at one time were
under the rule of the Greek Empire] continued to write in Greek.
It wasn’t until around a few centuries after the time of
Christ that the first Latin bible was written [by Saint Jerome].
But even his bible [the Latin Vulgate] used the Greek Old
Testament [called the Septuagint] instead of the Hebrew- for his Latin
translation.
Ok- the point being- the Greek world did indeed have a
strong influence on the early church.
And the church had to refute the belief that all matter was
evil.
The Christian doctrine of creation [developed under saint
Augustine- the 4th-5th century bishop of Hippo- North
Africa].
Was the teaching that matter was good- that God created the
material realm- so it is not inherently
evil.
But- after the fall of man [Genesis 1-3] a curse did indeed
come upon the earth [some times when the bible says ‘the world’ it is speaking
of the earth- but other times it is speaking of the fallen order- the sinful
realm of man. That’s why there is some confusion- till this day- among
Christians. They might read verses like this- and think the bible is saying the
earth itself- the planet- is wicked. Actually in those verses it is speaking
about the fallen order of sinful men. See? ‘For all that is in THE WORLD- the
lust of the flesh- the lust of the eyes and the pride of life- is not of the
father- but is of the WORLD- and the WORLD is passing away’- this is one
example from the epistle of John- here the World is not saying the planet- but
the world of sinful man- a fallen ‘world’ order.]
So- in conclusion [if I ever get there!] we- as believers-
reject the belief that all matter is evil.
No- man was created in the image of God- and God is the
creator of all things- both visible [earth- man- etc] and invisible [mentioned
in the above chapter].
The evil we see in the ‘world’ today is simply a result of
mans sin- mans choice to live in rebellion against God.
We can’t escape ‘this world of sin’ by simply denying
ourselves [though that is one aspect of the Christian life].
But God sent his Son into the world to redeem man- Christ
died for all men- and this is the Divine act of Salvation.
When we as humans partake of this Salvation- we are then
free- free to enjoy this life- that God gave us- and we don’t have to have the
mindset of a Socrates- who saw this natural life as evil.
The apostle Paul says in his letter to the Romans;
‘Present your bodies as a living sacrifice- HOLY and
acceptable to God’.
See?
Our bodies- the actual flesh we live in- can be Holy-
sanctified- when submitted to the will of God.
[parts]
VERSES-
. Amos 5:24 But let
judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.. Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
VERSES-
Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a
Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luke 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I
thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
or even as this publican.
Luke 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I
possess.
Luke 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up
so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be
merciful to me a sinner.
Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified
rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and
he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Acts 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was
multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews,
because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
Acts 6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples
unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and
serve tables.
Acts 6:3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of
honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this
business.
Acts 6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to
the ministry of the word.
John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that
ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous:
John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for
our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
8 Jesus
went unto the mount of Olives.
2 And early
in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him;
and he sat down, and taught them.
3 And the
scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they
had set her in the midst,
4 They say
unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses
in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6 This they
said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down,
and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7 So when
they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is
without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8 And again
he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9 And they
which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one,
beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the
woman standing in the midst.
10 When
Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her,
Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said,
No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin
no more.
facebook.com/john.chiarello.5
Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts-
re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. I deal with
issues at times that it would be beneficial for some of you to download and
save the file from the Word Press link. This creates a permanent record. The
on-line videos are only good if sites are not hacked- which has happened in the
past. Thanks- John.#
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