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Monday 29 October 2018

Let us make man in our image


The following is a re-post of something I wrote some years back which I feel to put up again:-
There are quite clearly two Adams spoken of in the Bible.  The first book of Corinthians, ch.15 v45  says ‘The first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam became a life-giving spirit .’  If we look in Genesis ch2 v7, we see that  this first man, Adam, was formed of dust from the ground  This  ‘man of dust’ was formed before any plant or herb had grown on the earth ( v5 ), even before the sun and the moon were created, which would have been on the second day, and is formed by God alone, Who places him in the garden of Eden.  The word ‘Adham’, used here, is the Hebrew for ‘man’, which sounds like, and may be derived from, the Hebrew word for ground ( Adhamah ).  This Adam disobeyed God, and was tempted to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil when his wife was persuaded to question God's word   when the serpent said 'Did God really say?', thereby coming to know good and evil.  God had told Adam that he could eat of any tree in the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil .  Because of this disobedience,  eternal life was denied him (Genesis ch 3 v. 22,) and he and his wife Eve were sent with several curses from the garden of Eden ( which means ‘delight’ ), and this emphasises the loss of relationship with God suffered by them through disobedience to Him through the questioning of His word, a choice made by them which took them away from the blessing of eternal life. They were sent out of the garden and denied access to the tree of life.
In Genesis ch.1 v, 26 God says ‘Let us make man in our image’. This takes place on the sixth day, and the word used in verse 27  for ‘man’ ,adam, is a collective  referring to mankind, both male and female .
We are told that eternal life is not just to know God but to know God and His Son Jesus Christ, (John ch.17 v3 ), and Hebrews ch.1 v.2 tells us that God  made the worlds by Jesus.   We are also told in John ch.1 that Jesus is the word, and that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and that the Word was God.  From this we gather that the ‘ us ’ and the ‘our’, as in ‘Let us make man in our image,’ could well refer to God and Jesus .   God is Spirit, ( John ch. 4 v.24 ), and Jesus is the express image of God. (Hebrews ch. 1 v.3 ) so is this collective ‘man ‘, made in the image of God and Jesus Christ, the church , the spiritual man, the one spoken of by Paul in 1 Corinthians ch 15 v.49?    2 Corinthians ch. 3 v.18 says that we, the church, 'are being transformed into His image'.  These created beings were told to bear fruit and were sent out to  multiply, God referring  to everything He had made, including them, as being ‘very good’ (Genesis  ch.1 v.31 ).


God is  Spirit and until His Spirit is born in us we can not be like Him.  We are the ‘man of dust’, without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians ch.2 v.12 ), and bear the image of the man of dust until we are born again of God’s Holy Spirit.   Just like birds, who are first born into an egg and then have to break through that shell in order to fly, we have to break through the restrictive shell of our earthly sinful and disobedient to God nature, to be able to soar in Heavenly places with Christ Jesus.  This can only be achieved with the help of the Holy Spirit , made manifest through the diverse gifts within the body of Christ.  


Once we are born again and are in Christ Jesus and are actively walking in the Spirit, then we begin to become like Him.  We are encouraged by Paul in 1 Corinthians ch. 15 v. 49 to bear the image of the heavenly.  The first Adam became a living being.  We are not in the likeness of God as descendants of Adam because Adam sinned and all his descendants inherited his sinful nature, thereby becoming children of disobedience, all under God’s wrath, and ‘dead’ in our sins, (Ephesians ch.2 v.1.).  In 1 Corinthians ch.15 vs .45 - 49, we are told that there are two Adams, a physical which comes first and a spiritual which comes second.   We, as Christians are told that we shall bear the image of the first one and then encouraged to put on the image of the second one.  The second Adam, Jesus, was a life giving Spirit, and all who descend from him will be in His likeness and, because He is the express image of God, they will also possess the ability to be made in the likeness of God if they believe on Him., being obedient to Him.  We can only become sons of God through this life-giving Spirit.  Galatians ch.3 v.27 says ‘ For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.  For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ.’
‘ 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 or of the will of man, but of God ’  John ch.1 vs. 12, 13.


Jesus is God’s only begotten Son and we can become part of the body of Christ, thereby  spiritually becoming God’s Son too.   Is this the transformation spoken of in Genesis ch1 v26 , and is  God  speaking to Jesus (for the Gospel of John ch1 v1,2 and 3 says ’In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made .’)?
Genesis ch.1 v. 16 speaks of two great lights created on the fourth day.  Although God had created light on the first day, the sun and the moon were not created until the fourth day, ‘ a greater light  to rule the day, and a lesser light to rule the night ’.  If we take the natural meaning, it speaks of the sun and the moon coming into our world on the fourth day.   However, the scriptures are discerned spiritually as well. 
Psalm ch.90 v.4 says that one thousand years in God’s sight are as a day gone by.  Psalm 19 speaks of the heavens declaring the glory of God, and speaks of the sun being as a bridegroom, and Jesus is called  the bridegroom, and also the light that has come into the world ( John ch. 3 v.19 ).   John ch.1 v.9 says The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.  This was talking about Jesus at the time of John the Baptist, it was not talking of the natural‘ light’ that was already in the world, but the light that was coming into the world.

The sun gives light in the day, and while Jesus was in the world He was the light.    John ch.3 v 19a says, regarding Jesus and the work that He came to do  ‘ and this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, ’.   In John ch,9 v.4 He says, ‘ I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day: the night comes when no man can work.' 


The second great light created on the fourth day was the moon, to give light in the night.   The moon is a simile of the church, ‘ to be established as a faithful witness (psalm 89 v.37 ) ’.  Jesus has commissioned the church to do the work He did on earth.  He said to His disciples ‘As my Father has sent me, even so I send you ’ ( John ch. 20 v.21 ).  We can do nothing without Him, the Holy Spirit has been sent to equip  us to do His work. Within the body of Christ is the ability, through the spiritual gifts, to do all the works that He did while He was in a physical body on Earth , both within the house of God and in the world.
Just as the moon has no light of it’s own, but can only reflect the light of the sun on the world at night, so we have no light of our own to shed on the world while it lies in darkness. We must reflect the light which comes from our Lord Jesus,    ( hence  ‘no man can work ’)   The church is the spiritual body of Jesus Christ which has been forming for nearly two thousand years, or two days  in God’s time.  Jesus said in  Luke ch. 13 v. 32,   ‘ Today and tomorrow I do cures, on the third day I will be perfected. ’  Is He talking God’s time, has He been doing  ‘ cures ’ for two thousand years, and are we in the sixth day when the full measure of Christ’s body on earth will be reached, ( Jesus’ body being perfected ), being told to multiply and subdue the earth through His Spirit. ? Have the last two thousand years been used to form the ‘ man made in God and Jesus’ image’,  the collective, spiritual one spoken of in 1 Corinthians ch.15, and is this spiritual, collective one about to be perfected in Jesus ?  Romans ch.6vs3-5 says ‘ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into His death?  We were buried with Him therefore, by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from death by the Glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.  For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.’
 
As far as time is concerned many people may say that we have gone past the  six thousand years, but whose calendar do we go by?  The Jews have a different calendar to us, the Mayans a different one again.  Also the Genesis day starts in the evening.

The earth lay in darkness cold as a tomb
there was no warmth or light
It lay without life like the barren womb
of a woman alone in the night
...... It waited for Jesus
Once again the Earth waits as in days of old
Again there is darkness, again it is cold
But now there’s a moon to reflect the sun
To announce the return of God’s Holy One
To tell of salvation from sin and death
By receiving God’s Spirit .... His life-giving breath

God has given Jesus a name above every other name, ' for you have exalted above all things your name and your word ',Psalm 138 v.2b.     The king James version puts it  'for thou hast magnified Thy Word above all Thy name' , and I believe this is what the Father did, gave Jesus the authority to even blank out the curse that God had put on mankind by becoming the spotless lamb without blemish required as a sacrifice to do this.  ( Jesus means ‘ Yahweh saves ’), and because of this He is able to save mankind from the spiritual death inherited as a result of the sin of Adam.   Lazarus, Mary and Martha’s brother was dead for four days before Jesus raised him from the dead.  The name ‘ Lazarus ’ means ‘ whom God helps ’, and this is exactly what God did to mankind after they had been spiritually dead in their sins for four spiritual days, (four thousand years ) .   He made a way for all of mankind to regain the spiritual life they had lost through Adam by sending Jesus, to whom He has given all authority, even authority over death itself.   In Luke ch.9 vs. 28 -36, when Jesus was talking on top of the mountain with Moses and Elijah, Peter wanted to make booths for the two of them and one for Jesus.  However, as he said this a cloud came and overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud saying ‘This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him’ and the other two disappeared, leaving Jesus alone.  The law and the prophets no longer carried the divine authority, only Jesus did.   When Jesus was born as the Son of man and the Son of God it was the end of mankind having the curse of the fleshly inheritance of the first Adam.  Joseph did not father the child Jesus, the Holy Spirit did.   Man was once again given the opportunity of eating from the tree of life ( Jesus, the Word of God ).  
Jesus said to Martha, when she confessed belief in the resurrection on the last day, ‘I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in me, though he die yet shall he live ’( John ch.. 11 v.25 ).   Paul was confirming the creating of this new spiritual being in 1 Corinthians ch.15 v.22 by saying ‘For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive ’.  We are collectively the body of the new Adam spoken of in Genesis ch. 1 v.26   ( the life giving spirit ), in Christ Jesus, when we believe in Him, Jesus being the head.   Philippians ch.2 v.9 tells us that 'God has highly exalted Jesus and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.'  God is spirit and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. 


There is, in Jesus, a divine forgiveness which keeps no record of the death producing sins, which was not there in the old covenant between mankind and God, ( ‘ Let it be known to you therefore brethren that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by Him everyone that believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. [ Acts ch. 13 vs. 38, 39 ] ) and gives access to eternal life which had  previously been denied us.( Genesis ch.3 vs 22-24.).   Once we believe in Jesus and have become part of His body He, being the head,  instructs us to remove the grave clothes from dead mankind with the commission He gives to His disciples in Matthew ch.28 vs. 19 and 20  ‘ Go therefore and make disciples  of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father  and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age .’ 


It is God Himself who has made Jesus Lord, and in Him alone is the ‘life’ that is eternal.  He is the manna  from heaven, the  bread of the face, the ‘word of God ’, the  door to the sheepfold , the  mediator between man and God,  and the only means by which man may be reconciled back to God.  There is no other name under Heaven by which we might be saved.   He is the tree of life that Adam and Eve could not eat from because of their disobedience, the fruit of which enables mankind to know God and have eternal life.    The‘ Word’, which is Jesus, has the power to create.  It was there in the beginning, when God used it to speak the world into existence, and was there when God said ‘Let us make (create) man (the word used is mankind in the original text) in our image. ’.  God and  His only begotten Son Jesus, the Word of God, who was with Him in the beginning (John ch.1 v1),  and who was taken up into heaven to sit at the right hand of God after His time on earth ( Mark ch. 16 v.19), are making mankind ( formed from dust), in their image, speaking of our spiritual re-creation which God is doing through Jesus, ( curing us from our disobedient nature ) and has been doing for two thousand years since the Spirit was given, to those that believe, after Jesus was crucified, (for the Spirit was not given until after Jesus was crucified).  We are a new creation in Christ Jesus.
In Acts ch.2 v.36 we are told that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ, and in John ch.3 v.16 we are told that God has allowed Jesus to be crucified for our sins because He loves us and does not want us to perish but have everlasting life.  Eternal life cannot be attained without Jesus, otherwise Adam and all mankind would have automatically received it 
The time allotted by God for Jesus to save is a time of grace, when the door is open to us.  It has been granted to  us to eat of the tree of life, a thing previously denied us all by God because we were under the curse of death, inherited  through Adam’s sin.(Ephesians ch.2 v.5 says we were dead in our sins )  The right to eat of this tree has not been earned by us but by Jesus, through His crucifixion.  It is a gift!

Son of the Father

The ultimate sacrifice of all time took place when Jesus was chosen to be crucified and Barabbas was set free.  Jesus represented the lamb without blemish that, in the priestly rituals of the old testament, was used as an offering to ward off the punishment due to the Israelites for disobeying God, while Barabbas represented disobedient mankind, being a son of Adam by nature. 
The name Barabbas  means ‘son of the father,’ and his crime was sedition, which is ‘conduct tending to promote treason or rebellion against a governing authority’.   Adam’s original disobedience in the garden of Eden  was  exactly that, and the governing authority that he was rebelling against was God.  His act caused all of mankind to inherit the sin of rebellion against the governing authority of God.  
It is not coincidence that the one who was set free from being put to death at Calvary was named Barabbas.  He represented fallen mankind, the children of Adam.   On that day  the Son of the heavenly Father was releasing the son of the earthly father from spiritual death and opening the way to eternal life to all of mankind.   1 Corinthians ch. 15 v 49 says , we have borne the image of the man of dust and we are destined to bear the image of the man of the Spirit.  As God Himself is  Spirit, (2 Corinthians ch.3 v.17 ) so too the new image is a spiritual one.  We are made alive together with Christ, being saved by grace, and are raised up with Him, and made to sit with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
If we turn the word ‘ evil ‘ around we get the word ‘ live ‘.  If we turn the Hebrew word for evil, Ra, around, we get Er, which means waken.   Verse 18 of 1 Corinthians ch.15 speaks of  ' those who have fallen asleep in Christ ' When we are in Christ we have turned around from evil, and shall waken one day ( on the third spiritual day after Jesus came to earth, at the end of the sixth day according to 'one day being as a thousand years ) to a life of no death, no tears, no sorrow.  How wonderful is our God!  

And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.  Hebrews Ch. vs.22,23

25 comments:

Jephyr! said...

Hi Brenda, What an awesome post — taking us through man's fall from Grace and Life — to our redemption though God's Perfect Lamb — our Lord Jesus! I found myself amen-ing as I read your words! While I know we have eternal life through him — I'd never considered that through Jesus we again have the opportunity to "eat from the Tree of life" — how wonderful a gift from our Savior! I haven't read everything you've written on your blogs — but this seems like one of the most inspired that I have! God Bless you as you share his truth with others around the world!! Healing to you in the name of Jesus!!

Brenda said...

Hi Jephyr,
all glory to our Father God and His Son Jesus, through Whom we have access to the truth by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Once I became born again of God's Spirit I was amazed at what was revealed through the scriptures. Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement, it is wonderful being part of the body of Christ. God bless you as you share what you have been given to share on your lovely blog.

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Brenda,
Praise the Lord that He did not leave us as dust, but that He breathed into us a living Spirit, and opened the door to eternal life to all who would trust in His Son. Without the Holy Spirit Who enters us at the second birth, we are still dead spiritually, but once He enters us, He is the earnest of our inheritance from the Father, for us to be joint heirs with Christ of eternal life and all blessings.
Thank you for your lovely blog, and may God continue to bless you in your ministry.
Love in Christ,
Laurie

Brenda said...

Hi Laurie,
isn't it wonderful that due to our wonderful Saviour's sacrifice we are able to become children of God by being born of the same Spirit that Jesus was born of. I am forever learning God's ways and realizing that it is only due to the Holy Spirit leading me into the truth that lies within that Word that I can understand what is 'sin' to God. Praise God, our wonderful Father, for His precious Son being sent to reconcile us back to Him. It is an on-going journey and we have to be always aware that the enemy, who is a thief and a liar, will try to rob us of the truth. We hold fast to that which is good eh?
God bless you Laurie, and your encouraging ministry too.

Keith said...

Good Post, Brenda. One thing caught my attention, during my first time through.

In your Genesis 1 section, you referenced John 9:4.

"and this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, ’. In John ch,9 v.4 "

I love the verbiage used by John, in his gospel. He used the verb, "come". In Genesis 1:3, where most Bibles say,

"And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light."

In reality, the actual 'Word for Word' translation of Genesis 1:3 says,

Elohim spoke, "Light Come Forth!"

I love the consistency of the scriptures, when read correctly.



Brenda said...

Hi Keith,
Yes, that makes perfect consistency, and this is why we must all share what we have been given to share. Elohim, God, was speaking about Y'shua - the true light that was coming into the world.
Thank you for sharing this Keith, we are forever learning, and knowledge is being increased in these latter times.

Brenda said...

I know I have said this many times, but I have always believed that, as that Word is the same yesterday today and forever that Word is a vocabulary - not a book, and that once we are born again of God's Spirit then we are spiritually 'spoken to' through that Word, first being shown that the 'light of the world' has come into our life and has begun to take us on our journey to the promised land.
This may sound crazy to the carnal mind, but the things of God are foolishness to the carnal mind, and I have always believed that we are taught through the scriptures being spiritually discerned, and all being taught individually by the Holy Spirit.
I am going through another trial Keith, and I believe it is concerning the dry bones of the 'Israel of God' and the necessity for the 'breath' of the Holy Spirit to come into them. The scriptures tell us that the children are for signs and portents in Israel and I believe this is talking about the 'Israel of God', the church needing the Holy Spirit's presence. Just as we must pray for healing in our bodies, I believe we must pray for spiritual healing in the church - the body of Christ.
This morning I opened my Bible to read and opened to calling for the elders to pray for the centurion's slave. Please pray for the healing of my 'dry' bones, and the healing of the church.
Thank you and God bless you and yours Keith.

Keith said...

Prayer sent, my friend. May the Lord heal you, so his name can be glorified. Yes, the more he reveals,the more it becomes evident that the Bible is a supernatural integrated message system.

Karen said...

Thank you for sharing your Bible study. I am so thankful for God, who is three in one-Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Brenda said...

Hi Karen,
I love the way the Holy Spirit unfolds the truth that is within that Word. God is Spirit, Jesus was born of His Spirit, and then we are born of the Holy spirit, all becoming one in the Lord Jesus with God in Spirit. (John ch. 17 v.21). Praise our lovely Lord for enabling us to be reconciled back to the Father.

Jephyr! said...

Hi Brenda, Just letting you know you've been in my thoughts and prayers. I just posted the prayer request we discussed on my blog. God Bless you!!

Brenda said...

Thank you Jephyr, I am still suffering pain in my right hip and I do absolutely believe it is associated with the children being for signs and portants, and that is one of the main reasons I can not go to the worldly physicians for help. Otherwise that sign would not be there in me, but I believe that it calls me and others to pray for the spirit to come into the 'dry bones' of the church - the Israel of God.
God bless you Jephyr, and you too pray for the church.

Jephyr! said...

Hi Brenda, When I put together my post yesterday I'm now reminded by your comment that I neglected to add your request for prayers for the "dry bones" of the Church. As soon as I can I'll add that to my post (my prayers as well). Since you asked me to include that I apologize for not doing so. Thanks for the reminder and for your faithfulness through your trial. God Bless you, Heal you, and Comfort you in the name of Jesus! Lord we ask that you FLOOD the dry bones of your spiritual children — your Church — with your Spirit!

Jephyr! said...

Brenda, I just edited that post to include your request for prayer for the Church. I copied and pasted two of your relevant comments about it and a few words of my own. If I have misunderstood anything about what you believe the Lord is teaching us through your trial — please let me know and I will be happy to rework the wording until it's more accurate. God Bless you as always, Your Brother in Christ Jesus

Brenda said...

Thank you Jephyr for your faithfulness in the Lord, and I agree with all you have said in your prayer for the church. I know that every day in our lives is written in His book before even one of them was formed, and as long as we are endeavouring to do all that we believe the Lord is asking us to do, then all will come to pass in the time He has appointed it to as we allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth. God bless you my brother in Christ Jesus.

Jephyr! said...

Thank you so much Brenda. Your words of encouragement and faith are always appreciated! God Bless and heal you even as he pours His Spirit out on His people — Israel and His Church!

Laurie Collett said...

Amen, Brenda! May we yield to the Spirit and remain vigilant to the snares of the devil, so that we can resist him and he will flee.
May God bless you richly,
Laurie

Brenda said...

Absolutely Laurie, and thank you for your blessing.
The one thing the devil will try to inflict on us is fear, but God's perfect love will cast out this fear if we put our trust in Him. May God bless you richly too Laurie.

Karen said...

Brenda, Today is Thanksgiving Day and I am thankful for you. God bless you. Have a wonderful day.

Brenda said...

Hi Karen,
thank you for your very kind comment. I am grateful to have you as a very kind sister in the Lord too. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Patrinas Pencil said...

Brenda,
since I've been away...I've lots to catch up on. I understand you to have pain in your hip...I understand that you are inclined to believe it is your sign to pray for God's breath to fill the dry bones of Israel's children...the body of Christ...the church. Interesting, indeed. Just this morning, as I walked and prayed with my grandmother's prayer blanket, I was asking for the same thing. The breath of His Holy Spirit to breathe healing and life into me. I have managed to crack a rib. I like you, seek the Healer rather than the standard medical options. I believe he is the Healer. I run to His tower for help...regardless of the circumstance.

The dry bones incident has been in my prayers for at least the last 6 months. We must be on the same page.:) Praying with you for the Holy Spirit to breathe life into His church today. WE definitely need to seek His face...His filling. I also pray the Lord's will as for your hip pain. May He strengthen you as you are faithful in your prayers and diligence to serve God...and people. Your passion moves me :) I read in the footnotes today for 1 cor 14:39 that the greek word for 'passionate' used there is - zeloo, which means... a boiling fevor. I loved that. That describes you and me :) fevor means 'great warmth and earnestness of feeling', or intensity of feeling or expression.

You wrote this post well. You should be a Bible Study teacher. Maybe consider publishing this in a mini book form. Great job. Loved this paragraph:"If we turn the word ‘ evil ‘ around we get the word ‘ live ‘. If we turn the Hebrew word for evil, Ra, around, we get Er, which means waken. Verse 18 of 1 Corinthians ch.15 speaks of ' those who have fallen asleep in Christ ' When we are in Christ we have turned around from evil, and shall waken one day ( on the third spiritual day after Jesus came to earth, at the end of the sixth day according to 'one day being as a thousand years ) to a life of no death, no tears, no sorrow. How wonderful is our God! "

Amen!!

Blessings, my friend
hugs
patrina

Brenda said...

Patrina it was so encouraging to read your post, nothing is coincidence and I believe you coming back on blogger is the perfect timing of God.
I understand the pain you must be experiencing through your fractured rib and I pray that the Lord will bring healing. Even your fractured rib reminds me of how Eve was taken from the rib of Adam, and I believe it speaks spiritually of the bride of Christ(the second Adam (the church)being 'fractured'. We are all parts of the body of Christ on earth when we become God's children - being born of His Spirit, and we need one another to become one in Him. I love sharing on the blog and know it is right. I have a couple of little booklets and I used to have a small 'business' selling them and cards I make for next to no profit, but the Lord spoke to me through the words 'Freely you have received, freely give', and I started my blog instead. He had given me 'First seek the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you', and I have to admit that my husband and myself have never had to worry about material things.
I love interacting on the blog with my sisters and brothers in the Lord and I encourage everyone to continue to seek the Lord as we grow in Him.
God bless you Patrina, as we continue to trust in the Word of God.

Brenda said...

Hi Patrina again,
just to add, where I say about what I believe your fractured rib represents to me, it was based on how the scriptures say in Isaiah ch. 8 v.18:- 'Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me to be signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.'
I believe it is we the church who are the spiritual 'Israel of God', and so we can be as signs and portents in the church.
I looked up the word 'fracture' and this was one of it's interpretations :-

'with reference to a group or organization) split or fragment and become unable to function or exist.
"the movement had fractured without his leadership"

That is what will happen to the church without the leadership of the Holy Spirit that leads us into all truth. Any of mans' doctrines will fracture the church.

Patrinas Pencil said...

Brenda,

That's what I love about you, YOU HAVE KINGDOM EYES!I loved how you saw in the spiritual what God was showing you in my physical ailment.That's exactly what He does for both you and I. It's a gift. It may seem strange to others...but to those of us who hear Him this way...it's like second nature. I did not even see this analogy in my own fractured rib. I failed to ask. thank you for your insight. I agree. In fact, I have been studying Isaiah 8 and beyond today..for the full context of what you have shared. I am not complete...as I feel the Lord speaking again and I must pick up my pencil while the moment is ripe. Just to let you know, that I am now praying for the current 'fracture' of the CHURCH world wide..as I continue to walk through my own personal healing journey. I am honored to walk with this fractured rib... as it reminds me to pray and reminds me of the needless pain and suffering among His body!!

The Lord clearly made known to King Solomon...in 2 Chron 7:14 - " ..if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." He was speaking of physical land...but with an everlasting spiritual emphasis. He has always been our ANSWER...our HEALER.

The CHURCH of Christ will be fractured without the Holy Spirit's leadership. And He leads...from the very WORD of God. I will be posting an example of how the Holy Spirit can lead a receptive church body into unity with ONE Spirit in One Accord...after experiencing a 'fracture' in their body.

I am so encouraged to be connected with you and His spirit within you...again!! WE are of ONE body!!

hugs,
patrina


Brenda said...

Amen, and Amen Patrina,
look forward to your next post.
God bless you.