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Ah quite revealing!

Particularly the following two UCG teachings:

1

"Indeed, in an ultimate sense, the Kingdom of God is synonymous with the ruling family of God, all members of which will share THE FULL NATURE OF GOD." http://www.ucg.org/booklet/what-your-destiny/life-gods-family/

AND:

“Now what could that mean? Well let’s tear it apart. If you’re filled up TO ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD...you can BECOME a literal son or daughter of God, a full fledged member of His family, a DIVINE SPIRIT BEING like God in His eternal family.” http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today-program/doctrinal-beliefs/family-destiny

What does this tell us about United Church of God teachings?

a

In light of this..."9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form..." (Colossians 2)... there goes Jesus' uniqueness...You, too, can be 100% like Jesus Christ having the "FULL NATURE of God" and "ALL THE FULLNESS of God"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

b

Despite all the assurances by God of no other divine beings in Isaiah 43, Isaiah 44, Isaiah 45, and other verses, you too can become a "DIVINE spirit being like God"!!!!!

No wonder DouglasKC has shown so much affinity with the Mormons on Lds threads all this time!!!

c

And then this UCG excerpt here was a key thought in attempting to "translate" DouglasKC's last post to me:

"...you can BECOME a literal son or daughter of God..."

Douglas wrote in post #497:

So it's clear that we are sons of God in one sense, but we are to become sons of God in another sense."

So the UCGites are right up the same kind of dilemma the MORMONS are on this...

On the one hand, the Mormons preach we are ALL LITERAL spirit children from some pre-existence...On the other hand, even the Book of Mormon (book of Mosiah) preaches in two places that we are to BECOME children of God...and the Bible says this same thing in John 1:12 plus Paul's present-tense "adoption" verses in Romans 8 and Ephesians.

How can we be "adopted" if we ALREADY are "literal" children of the Father? (Quite problematic in Mormonism; and DouglasKC just tries to skirt right around a similar UCG prob)

UCG's "version" of this is dilemma is that they like to cite the "we'll become" literal children of God (so they simply futurize what the Mormons do in retro)...

And yet here's all these Biblical verses that say we have ALREADY become adopted children...

What's the "becoming children" if we ALREADY ARE, Douglas?

So it’s clear that we are sons of God in one sense, but we are to become sons of God in another sense.”

Just goes to show that it is hard for two people to be on the same track.

Paul was talking about the present in some of the scripture but he was talking about future in others, for instance.

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

The above had not happened yet, it was future, they were not yet glorified.

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

They were still waiting for the final adoption.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

This is past tense, it had already happened at the time of Pauls writing.