What are his commandments?

[Webers.Home]

.
57» Rom 16:17-18 . . I urge you, brothers, beware of those who cause
divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you
have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our
Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they
deceive the minds of naïve people.

Naïve folk can be characterized as credulous, i.e. easily convinced by slight
or uncertain evidence, viz: non-critical thinkers.

"smooth talk" is the practice of sophistry; defined as a reason or an
argument that sounds correct but at its core is actually false; viz: subtly
deceptive reasoning or argumentation. Sophistry is typically rational,
reasonable, and sensible; but the thing to keep in mind is that faith believes
what's revealed rather than only what makes sense.

According to Eph 4:11-14 the very reason that Christ endows some of his
followers to speak for him is so that the rest of his followers may have
access to true premises upon which to build their faith and thus achieve the
unity for which he prayed at John 17:20-21.

NOTE: Rom 16:17-18 contains somewhat universal instructions because,
with a little adjustment here and there, they can be incorporated as
counseling for just about every ideology known to man, e.g. Buddhism,
Hinduism, Islam, Baha'i, Protestant, Catholic, Democracy, Communism,
Socialism, etc. It's kind of humorous, in an ironic sort of way, that
everybody's ideology warns its adherents about the dangers of everybody
else's ideology.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
58» 1Cor 1:10 . . I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no
divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and
thought.

Official belief systems-- e.g. the Nicene Creed and/or proprietary church
covenants and statements of faith --are very effective for achieving the unity
required by 1Cor 1:10; and should always be imposed upon new people
applying for membership in a local congregation. A church composed of a
variety of beliefs and practices isn't a unified church: it's a forum.

NOTE: I would have to say that after belief in God and His son, the next
thing that church members need to believe in is each other; and if they can't
believe in each other, then I really think they ought to disband. I'm not
kidding around about this; without trust and loyalty a church is just as
dysfunctional as any other maladjusted family.
_

 

[evyaniy]

1 Peter 2

1 Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babies, long for the pure spiritual milk, that with it you may grow, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Adonai is gracious. 4 Come to Him, a living Stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by EL, precious. 5 You also as living stones are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to EL through Yeshua the Messiah.

 

[evyaniy]

1 Peter 3

8 Finally, all of you be like-minded, compassionate, loving as brothers, tenderhearted, courteous,
9 not rendering evil for evil or insult for insult;
but instead blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.
10 For, “He who would love life and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit.
11 Let him turn away from evil and do good.
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Adonai are on the righteous,
and His ears open to their prayer;
but the face of the Adonai is against those who do evil.”*

 

[evyaniy]

1 Peter 3

13 Now who will harm you if you become imitators of that which is good?
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed.
“Don’t fear what they fear, neither be troubled.”
15 But sanctify the Adonai EL in your hearts.
Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear,
16 having a good conscience. Thus, while you are spoken against as evildoers,
they may be disappointed who curse your good way of life in Messiah.
17 For it is better, if it is EL’s will, that you suffer for doing what is right than for doing evil.
18 Because Messiah also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous,
that He might bring you to EL, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit,

 

[oyster67]

1 John 2:3-5
King James Version
3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

So what are his commandments?

Matthew 22:
38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

 

[Webers.Home]

.
59» 1 Cor 1:26 . . Brethren, think of what you were when you were called.
Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential;
not many were of noble birth.

In other words; those among the elite who've been called, weren't called
because they're special. They were called because they're sinners no different
than the rest of us. It's that simple; and they should never forget it.

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose
the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things
of this world and the despised things-- and the things that are not-to nullify
the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." (1Cor 1:27-30)

"God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit
God made Christ to be wisdom itself; he is the one who made us acceptable
to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our
freedom." (1Cor 1:30-31)
_

 

[CorrectiveLens]

Excellent! That would certainly put an end to the 'endless' threads of "bashing
others over the head with The Word," eh?

Amen.

I could be wrong, but isn't that what you are doing?

 

[Webers.Home]

.
60» Cor 3:9-11 . .We are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's
building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise
master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But let
each man be careful how he builds upon it. (For no man can lay a foundation
other than the one which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.)

Most Christian endeavors at least begin with Christ at their core. That's a
good start. However, not all build something upon him that's eternally useful
to either him or his Father, e.g. political activism, faith healing, and tongues.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
61» 1Cor 3:18 . . If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this
age, he should become a fool so that he may become wise.

In our age, "wise" would pertain to people high up in finance, education,
science, art, computing, crafts, music, philosophy, politics, etc. Many of
those people are brilliant, utterly self-reliant, and woke to the bone.

Well; I can say from personal experience that above-average folks tend to
make very poor Sunday school students because their intelligence gets in
the way. If only they would leave their IQ at the door, even they themselves
would be the better for it because when it comes to spiritual discernment;
many of those egg heads are about as bright as an elementary school kid
just starting out in kindergartner in need of beginning right from square-one
and learning some basics; which for the wise, is very demeaning to say the
least.

But nobody arrives from the womb knowing everything; thus the instructions
from Jas 1:21 which say:

"Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your
souls."
_

 

[JacobMartinMertens]

1 John 2:3-5
King James Version
3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

So what are his commandments?

Israel has a new covenant with God. So what was John writing about?

 

[Webers.Home]

.
62» 1Cor 3:19-21a . . For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As
the scriptures say; "God catches those who think they are wise in their own
cleverness." And again; "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they
are worthless." So don't take pride in following a particular leader.

Worldly leaders are everywhere. In music they're called influences; which is
a pretty good choice of words because the movers and shakers in this world
have a lot to do with shaping people's opinions. But unfortunately many of
those opinions are thoroughly inappropriate for Christ's followers; especially
the ones that motivate us to be grasping; roughly defined as desiring
material possessions urgently and excessively and often to the point of
ruthlessness.

Well; there's no need to be grasping-- instead be patient --because one day
we'll be privileged beyond imagination.

"Everything belongs to you: Paul and Apollos and Peter; the whole world and
life and death; the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, and
you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God." (1 Cor 3:21b-23)
_

 

[CorrectiveLens]

But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

What is His word? To Love God first and everyone else as one loves himself. Baptism in the name of the Father is when the Father chooses by granting repentance. Baptism in the name of the Son occurs when one believes that Christ's death means forgiveness of sins for those who believe. Baptism in the name of the Holy Spirit occurs when one is filled with the Holy Spirit of the Father and Son so that they both reside in the heart of that person and fill it with divine love so that all thoughts and actions are motivated by love thus perfecting the person by his obeying the Spirit of the Law. The Father chooses, the Son erases, and the Holy Spirit perfects. We know that we are part of Christ's spiritual body because we can feel the love in us. If you don't feel it, it isn't there.

 

[Webers.Home]

.
63» 1Cor 4:1 . . So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ, and
as those entrusted with the mysteries of God.

Big names like Mother Teresa, Charles Spurgeon, and Billy Graham are
practically sacred cows-- but Christian celebrities like those are only human
rather than divine; and be grateful you're not one of them because their
responsibility is proportional.

● Jas 3:1 . . Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers,
because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (cf. 1Cor
3:9-15)
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
64» 1Cor 4:5 . . Judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till The Lord
comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and expose the
motives of men's hearts.

Human nature has a propensity to shower accolades on religious celebrities
without having all the facts.

For example: we now know from Mother Teresa's private letters-- made
public by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk's book "Mother Teresa / Come Be My
Light" --that Ms. Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was a nun with so little personal
belief in God as to be an agnostic; and yet for decades everyone the world
over thought she was the cat's meow and the bee's knees: a veritable poster
child of piety in thought, word, and deed. It turns out Teresa was a
remarkable actor. Her public image bore no resemblance whatsoever to the
secret life of her inner being.

The Spirit's corroboration that comes to Christ's followers via Rom 8:16
never happened for Teresa. As a result, the remarkable nun came to the end
of her life wondering if there really is a God out there; and worried that if
perchance there is a God, He didn't want her in India to begin with; maybe
even didn't particularly like her, and might actually be quite intent upon
condemning her.

* To be honest: I just don't know how the Roman Church could proceed with
fast-tracking Mother Teresa to sainthood while fully aware of her deplorable
spiritual condition; unless she was just too widely admired, and too big a
global figure, not to.
_

 

[TMS]

The unity comes from all being one in Christ.

Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

GODS people are united in the word of truth
The Bible

 

[TMS]

We may all seem to be united and worship together but if we are teaching false doctrines we worship Jesus in vain.

Matt 15:1-9.
Mat 15:6
And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
Mat 15:9
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

 

[Webers.Home]

.
65» 1Cor 5:1-5 . . It is actually reported that there is immorality among
you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the
Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife. And you have become
arrogant, and have not mourned instead, in order that the one who had
done this deed might be removed from your midst.

. . . For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have
already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In
the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in
spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one
to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the
day of The Lord Jesus.

Gentiles of course do sleep with their stepmothers on occasion; but the
world's practice of that kind of behavior is more an aberration than a
custom.

Well, the Corinthians were treating that man's behavior as if it were a norm,
i.e. they apparently felt that the man's conduct was trivial, undeserving of
either attention or criticism. They must have wondered why Paul was
reacting so badly rather than just "get over it". After all; it's none of his
business what goes on behind closed doors. Had he not heard of the right to
privacy? And besides, didn't the Lord say: "Let he who is without sin cast the
first stone."

Delivering someone to Satan for the destruction of the flesh just simply
means to cull them from the herd, so to speak. In other words: exclude
them from congregational activities; e.g. worship, Sunday school, and
prayer meetings. This is not as radical as totally breaking off contact with
someone; it's purpose is church discipline rather than the social
disconnection practiced by Scientology and the Jehovah's Witnesses.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
66» 1Cor 5:6b . . Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole
lump of dough?

The first few chapters of the book of Revelation list several of Jesus'
complaints about the spiritual condition of specific churches. It's unlikely that
every member of those churches deserved criticism, but Jesus slammed the
churches as corporate bodies rather than individuals. So then if, and/or
when, those churches failed to correct their shortcomings; then the whole
church-- the good and the bad --was taken to task.

● 1Cor 5:7-13 . . Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, just
as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been
sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with
the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth.

. . . I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not
at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and
swindlers, or with idolaters; for then you would have to go out of the world.

. . . But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if
he should be an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or
a drunkard, or a swindler-- not even to eat with such a one. For what have I
to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the
church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man
from among yourselves.

That's a good argument against church expansion. The bigger a
congregation gets, the more difficult it is for the staff to gauge their people''s
spiritual condition.

Churches can't be expected to police every soul that comes thru their doors,
but they should be expected to keep an eye on those they accept, and those
they keep, on their membership roles because the substandard members
have as much influence upon Jesus' evaluation of their operation as the
pious members.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
67» 1Cor 5:6a . .Your boasting is not good.

The Corinthian church was liberal in its attitudes about intimacy. That's no
surprise considering that particular city's culture in their day and age.

Then, as now, liberals tend to think of themselves as sophisticated and
progressive; and vastly superior to stodgy, inflexible conservatives.

NOTE: An article recently in the Epoch Times shares some of the secrets of a
former KGB agent whose standard plan for moving countries towards
communism includes demoralization. He said that Americans make the task
easy because they were, and are, corrupting themselves on their own; and
actually accomplishing the task much quicker than the KGB could even
dream.

America's moral decadence began gaining momentum with the counter
culture back in the 1960s -- it continues to this day and, sort of like the
expansion of the universe, is picking up speed instead of slowing down as
might be expected.
_