The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet #5167 KCEphesians7

Let us not parenthetically recap the "mysteries" Paul taught.

To this point in chapter 3 (a parenthetical chapter), Paul has been describing his role as a servant of the mystery, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, commissioned by Him through divine intervention in his life to carry forth the gospel to the gentiles.


Let us then, at this point, parenthetically recap the "mysteries" Paul taught, in a very short summary of God's plan.

For the sake of brevity and continuity, most scriptural references have been omitted within the parenthesized text.

I know this may be new to some, and if so, try to be open minded and absorb that which has been hidden, the mysteries, from before the foundation of this world.

Start parenthesis) (Before the earth ever was, while as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world (Prov. 8), wisdom alone was with our Father, and He was alone, which is to say, lonely.

So He created, brought forth, His children, the souls of the sons of God, and gave to each of them "free will".

Is it at that time you and I came into existence, long before this flesh age, long before He placed you and me in that embryo in our mother's wombs.

He then created this beautiful earth, to be inhabited, and the "stars" of heaven, His sons, shouted for joy.

And so we did inhabit this perfect earth, our beautiful home, until one named Lucifer began to take charge and usurp the authority of our Father.

He was so successful in his conniving ways that he drew one third of God's children away from Him.

Our Father gave this one, Lucifer, every opportunity to repent and change his ways, but he would not.

An ensuing conflict followed and some of God's children stood against this 'dragon' and were loyal and faithful to God.

Finally, judgment was passed and Satan was sentenced to die, to perish.

And so it is, he is called the son of perdition, the son who will perish, even death.

Our Father, in His love for His children, delayed the judgment of the rest of children.

He instituted a plan of reconciliation, of salvation, to bring back those who had followed Satan as well as those who just didn't care one way or the other.

Declared long ago, that plan of salvation is written in the "heavens which are now" and contained within the pure zodiac, including the virgin birth and the man Child who would be brought forth as Savior.

But as with all of God's works, especially His word, man has succeeded in perverting, and hiding, the truth, to point at which it becomes a mystery.

So we come to Gen 1:2 where God overthrew Satan and destroyed the "world that then was", the age to which the fossils and the remains of dinosaurs belong.

He literally knocked this planet off of its true axis and out of its perfect orbit, whereby it became completely, and utterly, void and desolate.

The sons of God were not in flesh bodies at that time and we returned to heaven at the overthrow of Satan, the "katabole" in Greek.

He then re-created the earth and brought forth the "flesh" man and his mate the "womb man", created in the likeness and image of God and the angels.

In other words, we look like ourselves in the flesh.

Man was then instructed to go forth and replenish the earth, not plenish it, for it had been populated before.

It was decreed for all of God's children to pass through this earth age, born of woman, born innocent, i.e. "it is given unto all men to die once", in the flesh of course.

You see, when we are born in the flesh we have no knowledge of the events that occurred in the "world that then was".

That is what born innocent means.

Our minds are blank.

We are free to chose whether to follow God or Satan.

Of course we have learned that some already chose to follow God in the "world that was" and stood against Satan.

Therefore God chose them (predetermined, predestinated them), having justified them, to be used by Him as the remnant and His elect, down through the allotted time of history, to bring about His plan.

Do you now see how Paul's statement in Ephesians 1:4 makes so much sense, when he says, "we (God's elect) where chosen before the foundation of this world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love?"

It remains a "mystery" to the world.

God then, after He had created the "ethos", the races, the nations, on the sixth day, rested on the seventh.

On the eighth day He formed Adam and his wife Eve to be the "tillers of the ground", to prepare and make ready for the Savior of the world.

For it would be through their offspring, the children of Adam and Eve, that Jesus Christ would be born.

Satan knew that.

So what did he do?

He immediately tried to thwart God's plan.

He seduced mother Eve!

Not into eating an apple (the word apple is not found in the Book of Genesis) but into bringing forth his seed, Cain, Satan's son.

That is why you will not find Cain in Adam's genealogy in chapter 5 of Genesis.

He has his own in chapter 4.

Why?

He was not Adam's son!

It is a mystery?

What happened in the fig grove has been hidden for a long time.

In fact, it's interesting that the very word "fig", according to Webster's dictionary, also means "hidden", the expression being "it is a fig".

But remember the Parable of the Tares in Matthew 13?

Jesus Christ explained how the "children of disobedience", Satan's children, the sons of Cain (Kenites), the tares, came about.

His explanation IS NOT a parable.

The parable was given earlier.

This is the simple truth.

Matthew 13:37-39
He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; [38] The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; [39] The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

See phamphlet #7007
It remains a "mystery" to the world.

After Cain, the first murderer, killed Abel, God raised up Seth to continue Adam's progeny.

Then as Adam's family grew, Satan had his loyal followers, the wicked sons of God, leave their "first habitation", heaven, and come directly to earth, without being born of woman.

That violated God's decree and thus they sealed their eternal destruction.

These sons of God took to wife the daughters of Adam and that union produced the "gibor", giants.

Only Noah and his family were left undefiled by these sons of God, i.e. had maintained a pure pedigree.

Our Father brought about the flood of Noah to rid the earth of these menacing creatures.

However, there was yet another influx following the flood.

Those later giants awaited the children of Israel in the promised land.

Remember when the spies of Joshua came back and reported giants?

Goliath, who was 13 feet tall, was one of the last of these giants that we read of in the Bible.
(Evidence that giants once roamed the earth are plentiful if you care to research. Start with Easter Island and the shores of Bashan.)

Throughout the Old Testament we read of Satan's attempts to thwart God's plan, his attempts at Abraham and Sarah, Judah and his troubles, etc., etc., etc., until finally Satan brings about the crucifixion of Christ, the bruising of His heel, as prophesied in Genesis 3:15.

We are now about to enter into a new era, the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ and His saints.

But before we do, we will witness the entering in, a grand entrance to be sure, of the false-christ, the spurious messiah, Satan himself, who will bring about his one world political (and religious) system.

As Paul taught in 2 Thes 2, he will stand in Jerusalem claiming to be Christ returned and effectively convincing the entire world by performing wonders and miracles in the sight of men.

Accompanying him will be his angels, those sons of God in Gen. 6 that we just discussed.

It is written and declared by Jesus Himself... "as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be before His return... they will be eating and drinking, and giving and taking in marriage".

Now you know who.

There is so much more.

We have but briefly covered some of the "mysteries" which Paul taught.

But contained therein are the answers to so many questions that mainstream Christianity struggles with.

For instance, how is it that God could have hated (loved less by comparison) Esau and loved Jacob while they were yet in their mother's womb?

(Anyone with children will tell you that new born babies have different personalities "right out of the gate".
But of course!)

How is it that God named Jeremiah and others before they were born?

How is it that Paul could say we were chosen before the "katabole"?

It is so simple.

Our Father knew us from before, long ago.

We are His children.

We were with Him before we came to dwell (tabernacle) for a short time in this flesh body.

It will die and decay and we will RETURN to the Father (unless of course we are alive and remain at the second coming of Christ.

Then we will be changed instantly, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, into our spiritual bodies.

Remember Paul said in 1 Cor. 15, "behold I show you a mystery, we shall not all sleep").

And so it is easy to see how Paul becomes very humbled because of the grace and the greatness of the revelation of the plan of God (now no longer a mystery). End parenthesis)



We continue now with Ephesians.

Paul asks that the people not to lose heart or be discouraged over the tribulations and burdens that he is suffering on their behalf.

Why?

Because his tribulations are an honour to them.

Ephes. 3:13
Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
Never grow weary, or be discouraged.
[14] For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
God's plan of salvation for all is so magnificent and His grace is so awesome, that Paul, having been  given a part in that great plan, though he was chief among sinners in the flesh, could only bow in humility to the Lord Jesus Christ, who through the "working of His power" has made all things possible.

We need only to stop and consider how incredibly good to us our Father is and how much He loves His children, instead of getting all caught-up in our day to day trials and tribulations.

Then our hearts would pour out to Him in the same manner of appreciation that Paul felt whenever he thought about the love of Christ.

[15] Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
The Greek word for "family" used here is "patria" which means the kindred or family of our Father, as in a patriarchal family, i.e. His children both in heaven and on earth.

Of course we have family in heaven!

Where do you think our loved ones are who have passed away in the flesh?

Dead and buried, "six feet under"?

No, they are with Him.

And, though we are not all together at this time (some of us are here on earth, and some of us are in heaven), we are never alone.

 We are united into one body in Him.

It is so comforting to know that we are part of His family. Can you fathom that?

[16] That He would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
We, ourselves, the "real us", the inner man, receive power and strength by His Holy Spirit.

Christ dwells in us, i.e. He is at home when He abides within us.

Shall we discuss the "inner man"?

The inner man is the "real" you.

Touch your arm, that is not you!

That is your flesh body, in which you but dwell.

It is the "outer man".

So it is that the "inner man" can "hurt" while the "outer man" feels fine, and the "outer man" can be sick and suffering while the "inner man" rejoices.

Our flesh, the outer man, talks to us all the time.

Unfortunately we usually listen more attentively that we should.

When it says "feed me, I'm hungry" we just hop right to the cupboard or refrigerator and feed it obediently.

Guess who's in charge most of the time, the inner man or the outer man?

Have you ever considered how much time we spend pampering and taking care of our flesh body?

We bath it, we perfume it, we dress it, we feed it, we brush it's teeth, we comb it's hair, we cut it's nails, we wipe it's you know what.

It constantly wants our attention and says I'm cold (warm me), I'm hot (cool me), I'm hungry (feed me), I'm tired (rest me), I'm horny (give me another body), I'm bored (excite me) and on, and on and on.

Don't you wish sometimes that it would just SHUT UP!

[17] That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Become stable and grounded in love, i.e. let love be your foundation, the basis of your faith in Christ.

For you see, Love is the strongest force in the Universe.

It requires no law.

For example, if you love your boss you would never steal from him or her.

If you love your mate you would never cheat on him or her.

That you...

[18] May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
That you may be able to comprehend (to take eagerly, seize in your mind) the magnitude of the love of Christ, in its breadth, which is boundless: in length, endless: in depth, fathomless, exhaustless: and in height, measureless.
[19] And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
"Plumb full" of the love of God, which knows no bounds, and exceeds all knowledge and understanding.
[20] Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
It is His power, working in us and through us, that is able to accomplish far more than we can even imagine.
[21] Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Amen.
 
 

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.


1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them {the ancient Israelites} for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

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