Are You More Blessed Than the Virgin Mary?

Desiring God ^ | 12/15/2010 | Jonathan Parnell

[RnMomof7]

In the sermon descriptively entitled, “That Hearing and Keeping the Word of God Renders a Person More Blessed Than Any Other Privilege That Ever God Bestowed on Any of the Children of Men,” Jonathan Edwards writes: The hearing and keeping the word of God brings the happiness of a spiritual union and communion with God. ‘Tis a greater blessedness to have spiritual communion with God and to have a saving intercourse with him by the instances of his Spirit and by the exercise of true devotion than it is to converse with God externally, to see the visible representation and manifestations of his presence and glory, and to hear his voice with the bodily ears as Moses did. For in this spiritual intercourse the soul is nigh unto and hath more a particular portion than in any external intercourse. ‘Tis more blessed to be spiritually related to Jesus Christ—to be his disciples, his brethren and the members—than to stand in the nearest temporal relation, than to be his brother or his mother. Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, ed. Nancy Guthrie, 57.

[count-your-change]

” English does not have a proper genitive case, but a possessive ending, -’s (see below), although pronouns do have a genitive case.”

You’re overlooking Ebonics derived from Hoodslang and Drugfog idiomets. For example:

In the Neutral Tense....He be looking fresh as a poppy love.

In the Past Tense.......Dude be signifin’ and cut on his heavey, gonna be marked for wet.

In the Future Tense.....(Not much future for anyone who speaks such garbage.)

Yes, yes, glad to help out and all that.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Predestination is a doctrine of the bible, and as a bible believer I believe in it as well as the doctrine of the elect. Yet I do not believe that one is programmed by God to be a robot.

However, there are some men who will never be spiritual, God has made them that way for His reasons, and as clay I am not one to question why.

AMEN!

ALL glory to God alone. None of us can boast. Salvation is free, unmerited, unearned and ALL according to God's mercy alone by grace through faith in Christ.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

With a Mary-centric religion, Mary is made the object of worship, when in reality the comparison is to the Christ child within her womb, not to her and her womb.

AMEN.

And it doesn't take a philologist to know that by giving Mary the title of "Mother of God" Rome is giving Mary precedence over Christ. Mothers pre-exist sons.

Blasphemy.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

As I told you before the Ark was the manifestation of God's physical presence on earth and later, that was Jesus, the Word made flesh, not Mary. God's Presence rested on the Ark, just as He did on mankind, before the Resurrection.

Afterwards, His Holy Spirit abides within Christians.

The Ark was empty, other than for a few relics, and it was the symbol of the coming Resurrection, an empty tomb. The word for "ark" used for it actually means "coffin."

Christ's Presence on earth is manisfested in the Holy Spirit. We are tabernacles, and Mary was just another tabernacle.

AMEN!

That is one wonderful Scriptural lesson. Thank you. All who hear it are brought closer to Christ by it.

[1000 silverlings]

No one is saying that “Jesus was a container for God”, I dont know where you are getting that idea from. , Catholic theology however insists that Mary was a container, an ark, a boat, a coffin,a tomb for God. God’s Spirit rests, abides within us. We are not containers, we are tabernacles, a house of rest.

[1000 silverlings]

The Ark was never "a container for God". the whole idea is ludicrous. God rested His Presence on it between the two carved angels. The Presence sometimes left, He was not caught in a box ,much as some like to think

[presently no screen name]

What I believe? What does God's Word say? God so loved the world.....

And is God All Knowing? Yes.

Did He tell us many will not find THE WAY? Yes.

Did He know that before we were born? Yes.

Did He know that many will be lead astray w/deception. Yes.

You think He knew satan's tactics - deception, manipulation, control and how the 'religious' would fall for his tactics? Yes.

How many actually take His Word seriously in regard to evil being present? God KNOWS ALL from the beginning of time.

And God loved us all by showing it all in His Word. His love hasn't stopped many from willfully being led astray.

And what you or anyone does will not change what God already knows about all of us for He knows it ALL - the end from the beginning.

You think he doesn't know how you are pointing fingers at others trying to cause division? You think HIS own are oblivious to it? Jesus knew what was in the people in one town and He turned from it. He KNEW they wouldn't receive HIM. Jesus, Who is The Word - they didn't receive. They had their own 'man made' way. Did Jesus try to convince them, control them, manipulate them - NO! He turned from them because HE knew they wouldn't receive HIM.

So your manipulation of Scripture, finger pointing at those who believe in God's Word alone, isn't going to change one thing for there is nothing new under the sun - deception exists. And HIS OWN are very aware and turn from it and NO ONE can snatch us away from HIS HAND. You can't change what He already knows.

And the RCC heresy teachings about Mary and all the whiny Catholics saying but...she the mother, blah blah is useless. For God told us who HE CONSIDERS His mother and brothers are - those who HEAR and OBEY - but the 'worldly' mindset says that can't be so - for the angel said this and after all, she is the mother. WORLDLY THINKING has NO PLACE IN HIS KINGDOM. And HE told us OBEDIENCE (to HIS WORD) is better than sacrifice! So much for OBEDIENCE from the RCC and their members. And they think their filthy rags will take the place of obedience. Pope JP and his 'he belongs to Mary' and his garments, his casket, his prayer displaying his worship of Mary and calling others to do the same is pure disobedience. He's not the only pope who has disobeyed the very Words of Jesus, yet Catholics call them infallible. You think disobedience is allowed in HIS KINGDOM when HE says, hear and obey. You think the RCC is any part of His church when they disobey HIM, HIS WORD? HEAR and OBEY is for ALL! He told us, specifically, in HIS WORD who HE considers His mother to be in HIS KINGDOM - it's not like this world but evil/deception, the master of lies, says otherwise and his pawns fall into place w/his deception.

Let go of the pride in thinking the RCC knows more than God about HIS KINGDOM! He told us in His Word because He loves us and doesn't want anyone to perish, but perish they will for they didn't/don't want HIS KINGDOM, HIS WORD - and it was known from the beginning for It is Written,.

And as It is Written His Word is Spiritually discerned. More disobedience from the Catholics as they attempt to understand IT by their 'own understanding'.

[Mad Dawg]

Why does your post 619 presume to tell Lutherans what they believe in?

D00d, they have no trouble telling us what we believe. Why should they be any more reasonable about Lutherans?

[RobbyS]

Yet men wrote the words, and men have preserved what those men have written, and much has been written about those words. Do you think that the Bible just fell from heaven? God works through men. Through patriarchs and prophets and kings, and lately through the Church—the body of Christ.

[RobbyS]

Nothing you say is original with you. I have lived long enough to heard so many others say the same. Scripture is the Word of God but the work of human hands. An epitome of God’s word, but much is left to interpretation. Written by men, preserved by men, and interpreted by men. We can sit down and read the Bible, knowing that the Spirit will help us discern its meaning. The more we read, the more we discern. But always we start within A tradition. The language we speak, the way we worship God, the preaching we heard, the books we read. All these have been passed along by others.

[RobbyS]

Good point. The homilies are supposed to provide the context, but too often priests and deacons talk around it. Another fault you would be right to point out is that the selections themselves just stop in the middle of the story, so to speak. The pope tells them the mass is a whole, that the first part of the mass brings God’s presence to us in a special way. But they are too much of a hurray to get to the Eucharist, which seems to them the only important part of the mass.

[RobbyS]

No, but when we are talking about man, the physical and spiritual are naturally inseparable. Death, which separates them, is a tragedy. Man is not created to die.

[boatbums]

Yes, I agree, thank you Rnmomof7 for the post regarding the early church's meeting style. I think it is pretty neat that most "Protestant" services I have been to also follow this very same pattern in their worship service.

One particular part was very interesting, especially in light of one of my posts that never got any response how that Jesus, when speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well. In this event Jesus told the woman that he was the "living water":

John 4:13-14 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Interestingly, the Lord God Almighty also referred to himself as the "spring of living water" in Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13 and Zechariah 14:8. Jesus also spoke of him being the living water in John 7:38 and in Revelation 7:17, we are told: For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’

I think it is pretty neat that the early Christians mixed water with the wine in their observances of the Lord's Supper. In my years of Catholicism, I don't remember Communion services where anything but the cracker "host" was distributed. Does the Catholic priest mix water into the wine in his chalice that only the priest(s) drink?

[presently no screen name]

Written by men, preserved by men, and interpreted by men

Men who God chose, persevered by GOD, and Spiritually discerned. HIS WORD IS in INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Heb 4:12 "For the WORD of God is LIVING and ACTIVE. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart".

You think it's 'just a book' written by men? Think again after your read Heb 4:12.

But always we start within A tradition.

HIS WORD always was and always will be. His WORD was before any tradition existed and HIS WORD will be here after tradition is burnt up! Some much for 'your tradition'.

[the_conscience]

so I wonder who’s the quail?

Since most Romanists are democrats I would say it's Dan.

Seriously though, I would say that following the line of Romanist typology it most likely represents Protestants because Protestants make them puke.

[Quix]

I think it’s the TRUTHS OF GOD

that leave them puking.

Proddys are just the honorable agents of said TRUTHS OF GOD.

[Mad Dawg]

I think it is pretty neat that the early Christians mixed water with the wine in their observances of the Lord's Supper. In my years of Catholicism, I don't remember Communion services where anything but the cracker "host" was distributed. Does the Catholic priest mix water into the wine in his chalice that only the priest(s) drink?

From this I can tell you haven't been in a Catholic Church very much since around 1970 and also haven't done much study in the history of liturgics generally. What were your years in the Catholic Church?

Since the 70's in most parishes in this part of the world it is the usual thing for the laity to be offered the chalice.

And for a very long time before that, centuries, a millenium and more, water has been mixed with the wine in the chalice.

When I was an episcopal minister (priest, as I thought) at the mixing of water and wine I said the following, usually said quietly by Catholic priests at the same point, "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity." The mixing of water and wine is long attested, though I can't recall the sources right now. If you like, I'll look into it.

[Cronos]

yes, As early as the second century we have the witness of St. Justin Martyr for the basic lines of the order of the Eucharistic celebration. They have stayed the same until our own day for all the great liturgical families. St. Justin wrote to the pagan emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161) around the year 155, explaining what Christians did:

On the day we call the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same place.

The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read, as much as time permits.

When the reader has finished, he who presides over those gathered admonishes and challenges them to imitate these beautiful things.

Then we all rise together and offer prayers* for ourselves . . .and for all others, wherever they may be, so that we may be found righteous by our life and actions, and faithful to the commandments, so as to obtain eternal salvation.

When the prayers are concluded we exchange the kiss.

Then someone brings bread and a cup of water and wine mixed together to him who presides over the brethren.

He takes them and offers praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and for a considerable time he gives thanks (in Greek: eucharistian) that we have been judged worthy of these gifts.

When he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all present give voice to an acclamation by saying: 'Amen.'

When he who presides has given thanks and the people have responded, those whom we call deacons give to those present the "eucharisted" bread, wine and water and take them to those who are absent.

The liturgy of the Eucharist unfolds according to a fundamental structure which has been preserved throughout the centuries down to our own day. It displays two great parts that form a fundamental unity:
- the gathering, the liturgy of the Word, with readings, homily and general intercessions;
- the liturgy of the Eucharist, with the presentation of the bread and wine, the consecratory thanksgiving, and communion.

The liturgy of the Word and liturgy of the Eucharist together form "one single act of worship";¹⁷² the Eucharistic table set for us is the table both of the Word of God and of the Body of the Lord.¹⁷³

Is this not the same movement as the Paschal meal of the risen Jesus with his disciples? Walking with them he explained the Scriptures to them; sitting with them at table "he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them."¹⁷⁴

The movement of the celebration

All gather together. Christians come together in one place for the Eucharistic assembly. At its head is Christ himself, the principal agent of the Eucharist. He is high priest of the New Covenant; it is he himself who presides invisibly over every Eucharistic celebration. It is in representing him that the bishop or priest acting in the person of Christ the head (in persona Christi capitis) presides over the assembly, speaks after the readings, receives the offerings, and says the Eucharistic Prayer. All have their own active parts to play in the celebration, each in his own way: readers, those who bring up the offerings, those who give communion, and the whole people whose "Amen" manifests their participation.

[Cronos]

Good you do understand the inherent evil of Calvinism

The Rabid Calvinis Cult tries to spread it's evil doctrines but fail

according to the followers of Cal only if you are from the right caste can you go to heaven.

Of course, since you're just a robot with no choice to choose to accept God or not, it just means that before time the Calvingod programmed some robots to do good, and some to do evil. The ones programmed to do good when they die go to heaven, the ones programmed to do bad get told by Calvingod "ha ha! i programmed you to do bad, now you're going to be tormented forever. ha ha ha!"

[Cronos]

Let's explain the fault with Rn's theorem of the ARk = type of Christ

Let's see --
the Ark of the Old Covenant

• a container for the Word written down by Moses.
• Not God, just a container, something created
• Not God, just a container, filled with the grace of God
• Not a sacrifice, not a teacher, not a preacher

Christ

• God and man
• 100% God and 100% man, not a container, not a phantom, not just a spirit, but God in flesh
• The Word incarnate, not a container for the Word
• Begotten not made, not created -- not a creature
• Preacher, teacher, Lord, God, not a container, not a created being

To say that the ark was Christ in any way is to deny the Divinity-Humanity nature of Christ.

Do you, Rn:

• Think that Jesus Christ was just a container for God, not actually God in flesh?
• Think that Jesus Christ was created by God, just a creature, not God?
• Think that Jesus Christ is akin to the ark, a created thing, not God?

I wonder if Rn believes the following:

We Believe in One Lord Jesus Christ
The Only Son of God
Eternally Begotten of the Father
God from God, Light from Light
True God from True God
Begotten, Not Made
One in Being (homoousia) with the Father
Through Him All Things Were Made

Perhaps her group denies Christ as being both God and Man? True God from True God

Rnmom's group's statement saying Christ is just a container like the ark, a container for God is quite, quite wrong