The Eyes of God

p_rehbein · May 13, 2022

THE EYES OF GOD

Three times this week, I have heard someone say about men and women "They are equal but different." I laughed because of the worldly wisdom of the statement. These people saying such were professed Teachers of Scripture. Holding themselves out to be wise in the understanding of the Word of God. I had to laugh, or realize the sadness of the mistaken understanding they had.

"Equal but different." Think about it. If two are "equal," can they truly be different? If two are "different," can they truly be equal?

The answer is yes, and no.

When looking through the eyes of man, it is possible to see people equal but different. But such "teachers" are not mature in the understanding of Scripture. They are still supping on milk and honey. Not having matured to the point of being spiritual believers who are able to feast on the meat of the Word.

The Apostle Paul said:
1 Corinthians, Chapter 3:
1) And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2) I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

Understand that such believers are saved, but not yet sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Because of this, their understanding of Scripture is on a earthly level, and not on a spiritual level. This is why when they look at other believers in the service of God, they see them as being "equal but different." The obvious example is their seeing servants of God as men and women, and not as children of God.

This is why it is very important for all believers to strive to become mature believers, and receive "spiritual understanding" of Scripture. They do this by receiving the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. This "sanctification" by the Holy Sprit allows them to grow in and become stronger their walk with Christ. The Holy Spirit opens their eyes/hearts to the "spiritual understanding" of Scripture which allows them to see the world through the eyes of God.

Galatians, Chapter 3:
26) For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27) For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29) And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

When God looks at His children, He sees His children! Neither male nor female! He sees children who love Him and desire to serve Him in whatever way He purposes them for. This is the "spiritual view" and "spiritual understanding" that mature believers must gain to properly worship God. Scripture tells us:

John, Chapter 4:
23) But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Believers who are yet supping on milk and honey, and have not grown to become "spiritual believers," should not be teaching others. Why? Because there is no benefit for the teacher or the student. It is one child teaching another child, and neither receive the instruction in Scripture they need to become spiritual believers able to feast on the meat of the Word.

In Ephesians Paul teaches such:

Chapter 2:
8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Some believers are quick to quote verses 8 and 9, while excluding verses 10. This, IMO, is an "earthly" view of what Paul was teaching, and not the "spiritual truth" of the Scripture.

Every believer has a purpose! Every believer was saved for a purpose. God has a purpose for every believer! Salvation is not the "end" of the process; it is the beginning! New believers have been washed clean of their past sins, and are as an "empty vessel" needing to be filled with the Word of God. They are "babes" as the Apostle Paul said, and "babes" are not qualified to be teaching others.

Sanctification must be achieved for believers to grow and mature in Christ/the Word, and to be able to accomplish what "purpose" God has "purposed" them for. These believers will see "through the eyes of God" and will feast on the meat of His Word. These believers will be valuable Preachers, Teachers, Evangelists, Healers, Helps and other.

They will grow strong in their faith, and come to a point where it is not possible for them to turn their backs on God, for they see no other way than to serve Him!

This is why I say the "spiritual Truth" of Scripture is ONCE SANCTIFIED ALWAYS SANCTIFIED!

JaumeJ · May 13, 2022

A teaching to ponder from Galatians.

Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

TheIndianGirl · May 13, 2022

When it comes to salvation and afterlife we are all equal. However in the WORLD I believe men have it easier. You hardly hear a man saying, I'd rather be a woman whereas more women ponder about this topic more. Until recently, and this may still be the case in many parts of the world, parents prefer to have boys.

Magenta · May 13, 2022

TheIndianGirl said:

That's true. Sex selective abortions arose following advances in technology, with increasing availability of sex screening technologies that allowed parents to know the gender of their child, to the point where India passed laws to prevent misuse of these technologies.

Blain · May 13, 2022

p_rehbein said:

THE EYES OF GOD

Three times this week, I have heard someone say about men and women "They are equal but different." I laughed because of the worldly wisdom of the statement. These people saying such were professed Teachers of Scripture. Holding themselves out to be wise in the understanding of the Word of God. I had to laugh, or realize the sadness of the mistaken understanding they had.

"Equal but different." Think about it. If two are "equal," can they truly be different? If two are "different," can they truly be equal?

The answer is yes, and no.

When looking through the eyes of man, it is possible to see people equal but different. But such "teachers" are not mature in the understanding of Scripture. They are still supping on milk and honey. Not having matured to the point of being spiritual believers who are able to feast on the meat of the Word.

The Apostle Paul said:
1 Corinthians, Chapter 3:
1) And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2) I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

Understand that such believers are saved, but not yet sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Because of this, their understanding of Scripture is on a earthly level, and not on a spiritual level. This is why when they look at other believers in the service of God, they see them as being "equal but different." The obvious example is their seeing servants of God as men and women, and not as children of God.

This is why it is very important for all believers to strive to become mature believers, and receive "spiritual understanding" of Scripture. They do this by receiving the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. This "sanctification" by the Holy Sprit allows them to grow in and become stronger their walk with Christ. The Holy Spirit opens their eyes/hearts to the "spiritual understanding" of Scripture which allows them to see the world through the eyes of God.

Galatians, Chapter 3:
26) For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27) For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29) And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

When God looks at His children, He sees His children! Neither male nor female! He sees children who love Him and desire to serve Him in whatever way He purposes them for. This is the "spiritual view" and "spiritual understanding" that mature believers must gain to properly worship God. Scripture tells us:

John, Chapter 4:
23) But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Believers who are yet supping on milk and honey, and have not grown to become "spiritual believers," should not be teaching others. Why? Because there is no benefit for the teacher or the student. It is one child teaching another child, and neither receive the instruction in Scripture they need to become spiritual believers able to feast on the meat of the Word.

In Ephesians Paul teaches such:

Chapter 2:
8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Some believers are quick to quote verses 8 and 9, while excluding verses 10. This, IMO, is an "earthly" view of what Paul was teaching, and not the "spiritual truth" of the Scripture.

Every believer has a purpose! Every believer was saved for a purpose. God has a purpose for every believer! Salvation is not the "end" of the process; it is the beginning! New believers have been washed clean of their past sins, and are as an "empty vessel" needing to be filled with the Word of God. They are "babes" as the Apostle Paul said, and "babes" are not qualified to be teaching others.

Sanctification must be achieved for believers to grow and mature in Christ/the Word, and to be able to accomplish what "purpose" God has "purposed" them for. These believers will see "through the eyes of God" and will feast on the meat of His Word. These believers will be valuable Preachers, Teachers, Evangelists, Healers, Helps and other.

They will grow strong in their faith, and come to a point where it is not possible for them to turn their backs on God, for they see no other way than to serve Him!

This is why I say the "spiritual Truth" of Scripture is ONCE SANCTIFIED ALWAYS SANCTIFIED!

I think that saying they still feast on milk rather than milk based on their lack of understanding of one topic is a bit heavy in fact you gave them a pretty heavy order for a simple misunderstanding of a single topic, now had this been a many different topics they lacked understanding in that would be different but it's a pretty heavy downgrade for a simple misunderstanding.
However i do see where you are coming even so you were a bit to harsh and gave them a pretty heavy branding

Pilgrimshope · May 13, 2022

Blain said:

feeding on milk isn’t an insult it just refers tonthe state of spiritual immaturity.

It’s where we all begin Milk

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭

and then meat makes a person mature when we start digesting the doctrine like this

“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: he is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:46-49‬ ‭KJV‬‬

that has veggies and meat protein and stuff that makes bones grow strong , milk is necassary when we can’t digest solid food it sustains the yoingster until their ability to eat meat and potatoes developes. The Milk starts us growing but it takes the meat to develope an adult mature body strong

we want this in it’s due time when we’re young

“as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:2‬ ‭

when an infant starts growing and walking they also get an adjustment in diet because they need the proteins and vitamins in the food more than milk at some point they still drink milk but they take it with the meat and potatoes Like this

“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭13:3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

when we start recognizing this type of stuff and we ignore it it puts us here

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭5:12-14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

the babes also belong to God drinking the milk but eventually babes grow up onto young adults and then eventually into mature adults based on the food they eat.

to be a babe drinking milk is a good place to be not an insult but eventually if we don’t eat meat we will stunt ourselves growth and be lacking in many areas of nourishment

we are what we eat

Edify · May 13, 2022

p_rehbein said:

I would like to believe it were possible for all to not to turn their backs on God, but I can't.
After all, that's what the falling away is about, & in droves.
Also remember the Parable of the Sower where Jesus shows the different kinds of christians who will not endure.

Pilgrimshope · May 13, 2022

Edify said:

We also want to always remember the tender mercies of God towards the repentant sinner even after we meet him and believe like this

“But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10:33‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The apostle Peter the rock

“Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.

And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.

And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man.

And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

And he went out, and wept bitterly.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26:69-75‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Peter had denied Jesus three times in front of men just as Jesus said if we do this he would deny us before the father in heaven but then after Peter repented for what he had done bitterly weeping , mercy shows up in the form of the resurrected lord Jesus

“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.”
‭‭John‬ ‭21:15-19‬ ‭

peter had denied him three times , and three times Jesus let’s Peter affirm his true love for him. Restoring peters conscience calling him to follow after him in life and in death.

Jesus didn’t deny Peter before God Peter went on to become the founding apostle of the church filled with the Holy Ghost when Jesus baptized then at pentocost with the spirit , eventually he himself killed for the sake of the gospel as Jesus foretold he would be.

Peter wound up on glory bit of we take the gospel as a list of rules Peter would have to have been denied by Jesus and would have been lost. The gospel isn’t like the law

“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
‭‭James‬ ‭2:10‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3:10-12‬ ‭

the gospel isn’t like that the gospel is like this it is faith

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭5:24‬ ‭

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭6:63‬ ‭KJV‬‬

to quicken is to give or restore life to.

Jesus and the gospel is about this

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;

but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭16:15-16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

we say saved by faith

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭10:17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

We learn about repentance and obedience from his word as we allow it to teach us but it’s because we believe, not because we keep it as a list of rules, but it becomes our faith the things on the gospel become our conscience and heart our nature is changed because we believe and this then brings us into obedience

the law is “ keep every single word perfectly or your guilty “

the gospel is “believe in Jesus and the truths in the gospel about him believe what he said believe what he did , who he was believe he later down his life for our sins and then took it up again learn from the gospel and keep believing as you grow in learning “

in one case we’re saved based on a list of rules of what not to do and whether we do anything he said not to do , the other is based on putting all our Hope and faith in Jesus and the gospel of his kingdom which is his word. And commiting to learn from and follow him through life to learn and grow repent when we’re wrong and rejoice when we’re delivered

It’s works alone , v faith alone that brings us to the right ways and deeds that are pleasing to God

Runningman · May 13, 2022

Per Genesis 1:27, God created males and females in His image. Mankind in general are in the image of God. Men and women are just biologically different; other than biology there are no major differences as far as I can tell. However, they are both created in God's image so that's equal.

Edify · May 13, 2022

Pilgrimshope said:

I believe that.
But I believe that faith is a continuous, active faith, not a once & done.

Pilgrimshope · May 13, 2022

Edify said:

I couldn’t have thought of a better way to say it and totally agree it’s a new life that never ends and we grow and get better in time stronger in faith as we persevere in trials and victory

Blain · May 13, 2022

Pilgrimshope said:

It may not be an insult but it is downgrading them based purely on a single thing they failed to understand, we all fail to understand one concept or another that doesn't mean we feed on milk it just means we are human now as i said had they failed to understand many things then yes we could say this of them but you are saying a pretty major thing due to them not understanding one thing. to say they do not eat meat is the same as calling them babes in Christ while saying you yourself are not so no matter how you look at it your putting yourself above them in this regard and with them not understanding a single topic i just don't see the evidence. now i don't know them and maybe they are babes maybe not but saying someone feeds on milk is not an insult but not a good thing either so you need more evidence before you toss around that kind of language.

I mean if i said that of you because you failed to understand something like this would you not think that is a bit much and false?

p_rehbein · May 14, 2022

Blain said:

Women was an example only. There are numerous issues besides women.
Water baptism
OSAS
Holy Trinity
Bible is the promised Comforter not the Holy Spirit
Obedience to God/Jesus
Membership in Church requires vote of Congregation
Not baptized in a specific Church, not saved
10 Commandments not valid anymore
Predestination v. Free Will
Dichotomy v. Trichotomy
New Earth v. Heavenly Home
Rapture
1000 year thingy
...and on and on...

Bottom line is, those who are not Sanctified by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit should not be Teachers/Preachers IMO.

p_rehbein · May 14, 2022

Pilgrimshope said:

Agree. But, we must also remember that there comes a time when God will give them over to their sinful selves, as recorded in the 1st Chapter of Romans.

Even God reaches a point where "enough is enough."

p_rehbein · May 14, 2022

Runningman said:

When viewing from a "physical nature" this is true, as I stated in the OP. However, once we are saved, God ONLY SEES us as His children, not male or female. As recorded in Galatians.

This is the physical vs. spiritual level of maturity of believers that I spoke of in the OP.

p_rehbein · May 14, 2022

Blain said:

Maybe you need to read the OP again? The point is that there are two levels of believers: Saved......Sanctified. The OP was stressing the need for all believers (not just one group or denomination) to grow and become Sanctified believers. As well, the problem with those who teach/preach without being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Jesus told us how important the Holy Spirits guidance/teaching is to all believers.

Maybe you put more "downgrading" into what I wrote than what I actually wrote?

Runningman · May 14, 2022

p_rehbein said:

Yes agreed with you there about the spiritual aspect of biological males and females. There is no spiritual difference between men and women in Christ, according to the written word.

Blain · May 14, 2022

p_rehbein said:

I nsee so this is an example of one those who know their bible yet have no understanding of it then. Without the holy spirirt to lead us to all truths we know the bible more than we know ourselves yet it's truth will escape us and people think because they knwo their bibles well they are qualified to be teachers but this is not so i apologize for confronting you on this issue as it seems you were right in your words on them

Pilgrimshope · May 14, 2022

p_rehbein said:

yeah I think it matters whether one is willfully sinning knowing they are and then refusing to stop

or ofnthe person is struggling against the sin they recognize in thier life , if thoer heart is repenting and thoer mind is set to overcome v if they just aren’t willing to stop offending God knowingly

the thing with Jesus is he is extremely personal to each of us because we receive his spirit up front every thought and intent and also every deed that comes from that heart that we actually do is fully known to God every detail

what I mean is God knows the deepest places in us and what we know he knows. So if we know we are living in sin and are refusing to acknowledge and repent that’s one thing

but then If someone doesn’t really understand they are sinning specifically regarding any activity in thier life or if they are repenting fornthier sin but haven’t yet overcome whatever sin they realized thier commiting is another thing

God knows if we’re in this with all our heart and mind and soul or if we’re just saying I believe but I’m not willing to give my life to him and change my own ways that I desire just because he said it’s sin

I personally (just my own belief ) believe that each and every one of us is fully known by God the good and bad but more than that our understanding of the fisoel is known to him our understanding of sin is known to him our intents and deepest most hidden desires are known to him

so he isn’t going to judge us based on a list of rules , but rather what is truly inside of our heart . If our heart is with Jesus we’re going to repent and start learning and obeying but God is always testing and examining our heart the things in us our desires that lead us to act our hopes and dreams how we really feel about others whether we are willing to help another in light of the gospel

to me again just how I believe the actions we do are rooted in what we keep in our heart and harbor whether good or bad. If we harbor lustful ideas and fantasy in our. One and heart and don’t reject it it’s going Tom lead us to act in those ways

mercy is really our home not only us receiving mercy but also is being merciful to those who don’t deserve it according to how they have treated us.

I hear you though we. We’d to take repentance and obedience very seriously and not be complacent and pretend there’s nothing to do or there’s no word from God to follow and live by as many many Christians do

Gods patience and forebearance with us is largely based on whether we’ve really given Jesus our heart and committed our life to him or if we’re just lying lip service because we think it’s going to cover all the sin we enjoy in life

intent matters a lot in my opinion v someone not willingly continuing but locked in a struggle with sin

SomeDisciple · May 14, 2022

John 5
For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

Jesus, the son of Man, subordinate to the will of the Father- yet; equal with the omnipotent, omnipresent, God. Equal, but different.

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