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Posted on 01/16/2013 8:57:49 AM PST by marshmallow
General audience, Benedict XVI defines the Incarnation as "something unimaginable, the face of God can be seen, the process that began with Abraham is fulfilled." The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, he asks "for the great gift" to "proclaim together that Jesus is the Savior of the world."
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "The desire to know the face of God is in every man, even the atheists," but this desire is only realized by following Christ, in whom, in the Incarnation, "something unimaginable took place, the journey that began with Abraham is fulfilled. He is the Son, the fullness of all Revelation; the mediator who shows us the face of God. "
And "to proclaim together that Jesus is the Saviour of the world" Benedict XVI asked for incessant prayers for "the great gift" of Christian unity in the forthcoming week, which begins on the 18th of this month.
Previously, in his catechesis, he again reflected on the meaning of Christmas, in a commentary on John's Gospel in which the apostle Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father. The answer of Jesus, "introduces us to the heart of the Church's Christological faith; For the Lord says: "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn 14:9).This expression summarizes the novelty of the New Testament, the novelty that appeared in the cave of Bethlehem: God can be seen, he showed his face is visible in Jesus Christ".
The theme of "seeking the face of God" is present throughout the Old Testament, so much so that the Hebrew term "face", occurs no less than 400 times, 100 of which refer to God." The of Jewish religion which the religion forbids all images, "for God can not be depicted," and "can not be reduced to an object," tells us that "God...
(Excerpt) Read more at asianews.it ...
Labels, labels, labels......
The wisdom of men.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
If so, then he predestined everyone to be conformed to his image.
If that is the case, then everyone will be saved.
Or does foreknowledge in that context mean something other than knowing that someday they would exist?
Sermons? What for?
>> BTW, to what church do you belong?<<
The universal church that all true believers belong to. We affiliate with no organized religion.
So now the Calvinists view the leadership in their churches as infallible too? Who knew?
I think I’ve just decided that you are a bear-baiter and not a cynical bear.
Sounds like you don’t have the part about church together, so I’m not sure how much of a Jesus follower you can be.
Well, maybe you could comment on the statement of Charles Spurgeon.
You must, most of you, be acquainted with the general method in which our older Calvinistic friends deal with this text. "All men," say they, - "that is, some men": as if the Holy Ghost could not have said "some men" if he had meant some men. "All men," say they; "that is, some of all sorts of men": as if the Lord could not have said "all sorts of men" if he had meant that. The Holy Ghost by the apostle has written "all men," and unquestionably he means all men. I know how to get rid of the force of the "alls" according to that critical method which some time ago was very current, but I do not see how it can be applied here with due regard to truth. I was reading just now the exposition of a very able doctor who explains the text so as to explain it away; he applies grammatical gunpowder to it, and explodes it by way of expounding it. I thought when I read his exposition that it would have been a very capital comment upon the text if it had read, "Who will not have all men to be saved, nor come to a knowledge of the truth." Had such been the inspired language every remark of the learned doctor would have been exactly in keeping, but as it happens to say, "who will have all men to be saved," his observations are more than a little out of place. My love of consistency with my own doctrinal views is not great enough to allow me knowingly to alter a single text of Scripture. I have great respect for orthodoxy, but my reverence for inspiration is far greater. I would sooner a hundred times over appear to be inconsistent with myself than be inconsistent with the Word of God. I never thought it to be any very great crime to seem to be inconsistent with myself, for whom am I that I should everlastingly be consistent? But I do think it a great crime to be so inconsistent with the Word of God that I should want to lop away a bough or even a twig from so much as a single tree of the forest of Scripture. God forbid that I should cut or shape, even in the least degree, any divine expression. So runs the text, and so we must read it, "God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 26, Pilgrim Publications, p.50.)
does that universal church of yours have a published doctrine, or is it just “every wind of...”
BTW, does “canebrake revival” mean anything to you?
Or could that be what you have been taught that church is? What is your impression of what the home churches in the New Testament were?
Yes of course. It’s called scripture. It was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised the apostles would be given the Holy Spirit to “bring to their remembrance” all that they were to write. Can you say the same for those who wrote the “confessions” or whatever you call them in your religion”
Does your church have a website?
What for?
The were the first inroads of the apostles/missionaries who were founding the initial churches in the cities of the roman empire.
Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
They went to places big enough for them when they got too big....like when they had 3000 added in a day.
Info?
The church is the body of all believers, the bride of Christ, throughout the last 2000 or so years.
While groups of Christians form denominations and meet in buildings and call those *churches*, they are not necessarily so.
Jesus said that where ever two or three are gathered in His name, He is there in the midst. IOW, there is church.
What's your definition of *church* that seems to lead you to question his?
So far he has really affirmed that he is part of a church. He said some hazy thing about universal church. That sounds like it could be a guy that stays home and thinks that's just AOK, and then he calls that "church".
Like the 3000 in Act 5 all left for home and stayed there.
He also said they don't have "sermons".
Acts 20:20 NIV You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.
The content of a "preaching" is a "sermon" by definition, and it can be a proclamation of the gospel or a teaching, something "helpful",. What was Paul's sermon in Athens?.
Thank you for injecting this thought into the discussion. It is a view I hold as well. Between the two extremes of either views, I accept that the truth is somewhere in between and which, when we finally meet our Lord face-to-face and know as we even are known, it will become crystal clear. I just think the absolute truth of it all is much too infinite for our finite minds at this stage. I am content to believe that God IS in control, that all things are evident and open in His sight, that He knows the end from the beginning and that He STILL allows the present to happen according to His good pleasure. I am eternally grateful that He opened my eyes to see His grace and created within me a new heart able to experience all that He works together for my good.
It is intellectually stimulating to discuss these things God has allowed us to know about, but I don't believe He intends us to be at enmity with each other over things we may only be able to nibble at the corners of. If it helps us to further our knowledge and appreciation of God and ourselves within His plan, that's good. If it draws us away to opposing corners in anger at brethren in Christ, it's not so good. Jesus said the world would know us by our love one towards another.
Is this before or after I get my definition on "free will"? ;O)
You do understand that those were still the Jews right?
>> They went to places big enough for them when they got too big....like when they had 3000 added in a day.<<
And where did you learn that? I would suppose you would also look down on the home churches my daughter just helped set up in Haiti? I suppose because they don’t have the pews, the preacher, the organ, the formal format for the service but simply meet as families in someone’s home to pray, study, and praise God that they are to be looked down on as not really Christians in your mind? I would suggest you re think what you’ve been taught as to what a Christian meeting really can be and I think should be.
So, you have a scripture someplace that says the Court of the Gentiles in the Temple does not exist?
And you think Jesus didn’t mean it when He cleansed the Temple and said, “My House shall be called a House of Prayer for the NATIONS (Gentiles), but you have made it a den of thieves!”?
I actually think that you are a little group and it might fit in a house, and I think a bigger group needs a big group sized building.
The Bible says were to praise God with everything imaginable, including musical instruments, which would include an organ.
Do you use musical instruments in your worship?
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