The mission of Jesus was not to start the Christian religion; he did not come to win votes against Caesar, Mohammed or Moses. He came to reveal and redeem the authentic image and likeness of God in human form. Gen.1:26, Col.1:15, 2:9,10.

There are 2 worlds: an above and below world; or the [...]]]>

The mission of Jesus was not to start the Christian religion; he did not come to win votes against Caesar, Mohammed or Moses. He came to reveal and redeem the authentic image and likeness of God in human form. Gen.1:26, Col.1:15, 2:9,10.

There are 2 worlds: an above and below world; or the faith realm and the sense realm.
To engage one’s thoughts exclusively in the below world blurs the reality of the faith world and paralyses one with feelings of despair, hatred and hopelessness.

South Africa’s (and the world’s) most critical crisis is not their politics, crime or economy, but their ignorance of their original identity and the authentic value of every individual revealed and redeemed in Christ. In one act of righteousness their Maker reconciled the world to himself. Rom.5:15-21.

This is not a Boer-, Xhosa- or Zulu-thing; this is a Christ thing, because in him there is neither Jew nor Gentile. They were all equally represented in his death and resurrection where the old passed away and the new has come! 2 Cor.5:14-17. Jesus was not the second Adam but indeed the last Adam. In his death the Adamic race died and in his resurrection a new redeemed race was born. 1 Pet.1:3. “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? Isa.66:8, Hos.6:2.

Man’s ignorance of the truth feeds his unbelief and empowers an already defeated devil to again blindfold and abuse him. 2Cor.4:4.

God’s faith is not confused or intimidated by contradiction.
He always called things that were not as though they were! Rom.4:17. He never changes his mind; he confirmed and fulfilled his eternal purpose in Christ. God has given evidence to his faith in man’s redemption by raising Jesus from the dead! Rom.4:25.

In total contrast to the darkness that seems to veil the understanding of the peoples of the world, the believers are summoned to arise and shine for their light has come: it’s source is found in the unveiling of God’s image and likeness (his glory) in man. The light of the gospel is the glory of God revealed in the face of a man; this revealing is the most irresistible attraction of the life of our design as mirrored in Christ, awakening and transforming ordinary people into his likeness. 2 Cor. 3:18. “Nations shall come to your light and their leaders to the brightness of your rising!” Isa.60:1-3.

This is no time to run and hide, but to arise and shine!

Note that it is not our job to measure or proclaim the degrees of darkness; we are the ones to arise and radiate the life of everyone’s design, the image and likeness of God redeemed and revealed again in human form.
The true light that enlightens everyone has come!

John 1:3 Everything’s existence is sourced in him; he remains the exclusive Parent reference to their genesis. There is nothing original, except the Word!
1:4 His life is the light that defines our lives.
1:5 The darkness (that trapped humanity in ignorance) was pierced and could not comprehend or diminish this light. Isa.9:2-4, Isa.60:1-3, Eph.3:18.
1:9 The authentic light of life that illuminates everyone was about to dawn in the world! (In human form)

We are not staring into an unknown and fearful future.
Christ is the desire of the nations; he represents their original life! Hag.2:7
The nations are waiting to hear a distinct and accurate sound, then they will come, and their kings to the brightness of your rising. The living epistle is designed to be known and read by all. 2 Cor.3: 2,3. While we are not preaching ourselves, we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience by the open statement of the truth. (The mirror message, 2 Cor.3:18,4:2,5.)

Romans 13:11 “You must understand the urgency and context of time; it is most certainly the hour now to wake up at once out of the hypnotic state of slumber and unbelief. Salvation has come. 13:12 It was night for long enough; the day has arrived. Cease immediately with any action associated with the darkness of ignorance. Clothe yourself in the radiance of light as a soldier would wear his full weaponry. 13:13 Our lives exhibit the kind of conduct consistent with the day, in contrast to the parade of the night of intoxicated licentiousness and lust, with all the quarrels and jealousy it ignites.”

We cannot afford double mindedness, “While we look not at the things that are seen but at the things that are unseen….”
2 Cor.4:18, “You are raised together with Christ; now set your minds upon the things that are above and not upon the things that are below!” Col3:1-16.

Enough bad news! We cannot publish anything but the power of the gospel that sets people free; nothing else promotes life changing faith.

Prophecy is fulfilled in the promise.
Jesus is God’s yes to the world; he is the fullness of time and the fulfilment of every promise. 2 Cor.1:18-20.

We are wasting our time combating politics with politics! Publish the good news! Isa 40:9.
Let’s focus on the Philemon verse 6 model: “the communication of our faith promotes the knowledge of every good thing that is in us in Christ.” The communication of the problems in South Africa cannot but promote fear and despair.

Jesus did not come to win votes against Julius (Caesar or Malema!) or the Sanhedrin; neither did he try to influence the Roman Centurion to quit his job.
He came to reveal and redeem the likeness of God in human life, not as in a display window, but as in a mirror, in us, to free us to be the voice of his blueprint design, wherever we are. Col.1:13-15. In God’s economy the individual represents the masses! Your life is God’s strategy, you are his voice, his message wrapped your person.

We are not to confuse or mix the message of grace with religious legalism. The truth that sets people free cannot be the exposing of sin!
The law did that and it didn’t work.
Grace and truth comes thru Jesus.
Jesus dealt with sin and broke its power-claim in the human body. “Sin was your master while the law was your measure; now grace rules.” (The law revealed your slavery to sin, now grace reveals your freedom from it.) Rom.6:14.

To walk in the light as he is in the light means to understand the success of the cross! Our point of departure is the finished work of Christ.
This does not mean that we now have an excuse to continue in sin or to go into denial if someone has sinned, on the contrary, in the light of man’s joint-crucifixion and joint-resurrection with Jesus, we can speak to sin and sickness with the same authority that God does. The Greek word for confession, homologeo means to say the same thing.

Our influence in society, regardless of our profession, is determined by our faith, and not our political sentiment or job-description; our faith is sourced in Christ, in his perfect work of reconciling a hostile world to himself, not counting (calculating) their trespasses as evidence against them, but considering his justice met in his perfect act of righteousness.
Since God is persuaded about the innocence of man as evidenced in the resurrection we can afford to agree with him! (Rom.4:25, Acts 17:30,31)

There must be a “from now on therefore” reference in everyone’s life. “From now on therefore, says Paul, I no longer know any man from a human point of view, even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view we know him thus no longer.” The way we know Christ determines how we now know ourselves and one another! 2 Cor. 5:16. In verse 14 he says “The love of Christ constrains me, for I am convinced that if one has died for all, then all have died!”

Peter declares that God has shown him to call no man unholy or unclean! Acts 10:28. This would be impossible and absurd if there was not something of far greater significance that happened to mankind before they even knew or believed it! Something happened to mankind in Christ beyond comparison to what happened to them in Adam! Rom.5:15-21. God’s Lamb took away the sins of the world! “While we were still dead in our sins, he made us alive together with Christ…” Eph.2:5,6.

Paul reminds Titus to speak evil of no man, to avoid quarrelling and to show perfect courtesy towards all men! “For we ourselves were once ignorant…” Titus 3:2-5. The only difference between us and the world is in what we know to be true about mankind as revealed in Christ!

While we proclaim the sinful state of humanity we are not proclaiming the gospel, and life changing faith cannot come to the people! This conviction is critical if we are serious about impacting our world with the proclamation of the Gospel. I recommend that we become acquainted with our shared position in the throne room, much more than with the latest headlines and statistics of the political world and its corruption! God made that calculation in Christ and now seeks to convince us of its validity…much more, beyond comparison is the effect of one man’s act of righteousness to the massive evidence of corruption and darkness in the world! Col.3:1-16.

“Glad tidings of great joy…!” The immediate effect of the gospel is that of great joy! If what I ponder and proclaim brings anything but great joy it is no longer gospel! I can only proclaim what I am convinced of; the more I ponder the success of the cross the louder my confidence to speak boldly!

Rom. 10:17 “It is clear then that faith’s source is found in the content of the message heard; the message is Christ. We are God’s audience; Jesus is God’s language!” Heb.1:1-3.

There is enough bad news in the media world! Let us give ourselves for the good news! Glad tidings of great joy which belongs to the whole world!!!!!

As I said before, “our influence in society, regardless of our profession, is determined by our faith, and not our job-description; our faith is sourced in Christ” whether president or priest, rich or poor, our influence is only measured by our grasp of the Gospel. This cannot be compromised, nothing but the brightness of your rising in the understanding of Christ in you will attract the kings. Isa 60:1-3. Christ in you is the only hope of the nations. Col.1:25-29.

The greatest thrill is to imagine what God is now able to communicate through a life truly enlightened by his indwelling, the treasure of God in an earthen vessel. Truth deserves a display in your life, equal to its prominence in the life of Christ!
Col.2:9,10.

The authority of the Christ-life resurrected and revealed in ordinary lives is what the Kingdom of God is all about! This is the life of our design and belongs to every man! This is the life Jesus mirrored and redeemed for humanity.

Peter understood the resurrection and did not point the cripple beggar to the sky to an invisible historic or futuristic Jesus! “Look at us!” he said: “What we have belongs to you!” Acts 3:4-6.

To be double-minded is to forget what manner of man you are and be reduced to a mere man. James 1:24.

Nothing can better equip any individual to be a more dynamic, practical liberating influence to his neighbour and neighbourhood than being the voice of the free eagle! The eagle released from its zoo-cage could not fly even though it was freed in its original habitat; its mind seemed still snared in the cage until it heard the liberating voice of a free eagle.

Announcing the legality of man’s innocence will free mankind to know the truth of their original design and sonship redeemed! The cage is open for every nation!
The message of the reconciliation that God worked in Christ will flood the earth like a tsunami wave! Not through some future revival from above, but from the innermost being of ordinary people discovering Christ not hiding in some vague historic reference, but risen in us! Christ in us the hope of glory. Rivers of living water gushing forth from our innermost being.
This will make wars and divorce cease to the ends of the earth.
Today I have begotten you, ask of me the nations!

The du Toits and the Simons’ sons of Jonah, the Jews and the Gentiles died 2010 years ago.
There is no other context but Christ in us.

No other message or persuasion will awaken mankind to the true light that enlightens every man.
It is not his 2nd coming that will do this. While we believe that, we are in the same wilderness Israel was trapped in. They were all equally delivered out of Egypt but believed a wrong report about themselves. Numbers 13:33.

God believes in our design as image bearers of his likeness. His eternal purpose is to reveal himself in us as his body. He called it in Abraham, without a nervous twitch of, “what if Sarah does not fall pregnant!”
God is as confident now about the things he spoke in Christ as eternity will prove him to be.

He wants to persuade us, so that the living epistles will be known and read by all men, and all men everywhere will come to the same repentance, (metanoia) the awakening of their understanding of who they really are, revealed in him as in a mirror; the unveiled understanding of every man’s conscience.
The little stone that Daniel saw, will strike the man-made image and crush it to insignificance and the stone will become the glorious mountain that will fill the whole earth.
Faith sees it now as substance, no further evidence needed!
That is faith; its voice is radically different to the voice of popular opinion proclaiming their realities!

But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph as trophies of Christ’s victory and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere, For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God, [discernible alike] among those who are [...]]]> Trophies of Christ’s victory

But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph as trophies of Christ’s victory and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere, For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God, [discernible alike] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: To the latter it is an aroma from death to death; to the former it is an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh]. And who is qualified (fit and sufficient) for these things? [Who is able for such a ministry? We?]
For we are not, like so many, [like hucksters making a trade of] peddling God’s Word [shortchanging and adulterating the divine message]; but like [men] of sincerity and the purest motive, as [commissioned and sent] by God, we speak [His message] in Christ (the Messiah), in the sight and presence of God. (2 Cor 2:14-17)

A trophy is a perpetual reminder of a victory that was won, the proof of the success and achievement of the victor. Sometimes it is necessary to state the obvious: The trophy did not win any battle or achieve any victory. The trophy simple celebrates an event to which it contributed nothing, yet is intimately linked to. Life is not meant to be a series of battles in which we win some and loose some. Rather, as trophies of Christ’s victory, we are the proof and continual reminder of the once-and-for-all success of His achievement. We reign in life based on the accomplishment of this one man – His gift of righteousness.

There is only one standard of victory, one standard of life that God intends for us to enjoy and that is the victory and newness of life that He achieved in His death and resurrection. There is only one standard of fellowship: we’ve been invited into the same quality of fellowship that Jesus enjoys with the Father (1Cor 1:9)

After Paul spoke about Christ’s victory and our position as trophies of His achievement, he expands this thought by saying that we can never reduce this message to a sales pitch. Understanding the unprecedented significance of this event, we can never reduce it to a product that needs to be peddled. We are not salesmen promoting a product, but newsmen declaring an event in which:

He was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous; He planned for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages to unify all things and head them up and consummate them in Christ, things in heaven and things on the earth. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. For by a single offering He has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy. Everything comes from him; Everything happens through him; Everything ends up in him.
Rom 4:25, Eph 1:10, Col 1:15,18-20, Heb 10:14, Rom 11:36

But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself – received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself – and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him. It was God personally present in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against men their trespasses , and committing to us the message of reconciliation of the restoration to favor. So we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We, as Christ’s personal representatives, beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor now offered you and be reconciled to God. 2 Cor 5:18-20

There are truths which remain true whether you believe them or not. Paul understood this and wrote ‘for we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth‘ (2 Cor 13:8)In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God did something for and with mankind that [...]]]> We can do nothing against the truth

There are truths which remain true whether you believe them or not. Paul understood this and wrote ‘for we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth‘ (2 Cor 13:8)In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God did something for and with mankind that is immutable – not subject or susceptible to change or variation in form or quality or nature. The success of what He accomplished is unchallenged, unaffected by unbelief. In Christ God removed every obstacle and hindrance that stood between Himself and man. He dealt with sin – all sin of all people. He invalidated guilt – it has no foundation. These are things He did for us, whether we are aware of it or not. But He also did something with us – in His death, we died. In His resurrection we were elevated to a new position of blameless innocence before God. “There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge.“ (1 Cor 1:5 MSG) These things do not become true when you believe them – they are true even if you are unaware of them. Even if no-one believed, the truth about man and God would remain true. “What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all!” (Rom 3:3)
Fully persuaded

So if the truth remains truth no matter what I believe, does my faith really matter? Absolutely yes, in every way. We only experience the benefit of truth as we embrace it. “For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said” (Heb 4:2) The truth has no value for you individually, if it is not combined with faith. Paul wrote about the ‘wealth’ or ‘riches’ of being fully persuaded (Col 2:2) There is a richness of life, a rest of satisfaction, an abundance of contentment, that is only found in being fully persuaded.

Falling in love
Faith is so much more than correct information … as much as falling in love is more than knowing the facts about another person. When I met Mary-Anne, I did not not even know how to spell her name, her date of birth or background, but that did not stop my heart from responding with a ‘wow’. When a beautiful landscape appears before me, I instantly respond with appreciation without needing facts and figures. Faith is such a gift – its an instant response when encountering God. Whenever He reveals Himself we automatically respond with awe and adoration. Seeing what He sees causes us to believe what He believes. It is so much more than the pathetic ‘Statements Of Faith’ that some organisations publish. I’m so glad that neither Jesus nor Paul ever wrote a ‘Statement of Faith’ – they knew that the adoration they had in response to the beauty of the Father could never be reduced to a set of principles or neatly categorised into a doctrine. All we could ever hope to express is an introduction, an invitation for others to see what we see.

For the truth
‘for we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth‘ (2 Cor 13:8) Although we can do nothing against the truth, we can do something for it! We can allow it to have its full effect in us and through us. We can draw the maximum value and benefit from it as we combine it with faith, allowing God to persuade us fully as He is persuaded. 1Cor 1: 6 speaks about the testimony of Christ that has been confirmed in us.
Why do you think Paul, knowing that we can do nothing against the truth, would still risk his life and endure agonising persecution and torture for the sake of making this truth known. Well, we don’t have to guess, he wrote about his motivation. “For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: if One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.” (2 Cor 5:14,15) Paul reached a conclusion – the conclusion that, what Christ accomplished, included all mankind … yet the full implication of this truth, the benefit of this truth still eluded the masses because of ignorance. The desire for others to enjoy the full benefit of these immutable truths, drove him to make this truth known as accurately as possible.
So what can we do for the truth? We can allow it to have its full effect in and through us. Allow the testimony of Christ to be confirmed in you. We do this as we continue to live in awe at the revelation brought to us through Jesus Christ. We do this as we allow our enjoyment of Him to overflow into loving others – a love that compels us to live for more than just ourselves.
The full value and benefit of the truth will be realized. He is not pressed by time or impatient to draw all men to Himself – He has all eternity to show us the full value and benefit of what He accomplished on our behalf “so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” until “all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father” (Eph 2:7; Phil 2:10,11)
We have the privilege of being co-workers with Him. You can read more about witnessing for Christ in an article called ‘Are-you-qualified-to-share-christ?‘

Download this article as a pdf.

Introduction

The free eagle
Francois du Toit has produced an exceptionally thought provoking translation of the book of Romans. Below is the introduction. The book can be downloaded from the book section. Details of how to order hard-copies can be found in the book itself … hopefully I will make it available on Lulu soon.

Introduction

The free eagle
While we were on honeymoon at Blydepoort, Mpumalanga (Jan 1979) Lydia and I met an official from Nature Conservation who told us of a fascinating incident; she witnessed the dramatic release of a Black Eagle a few weeks prior to our visit. This eagle had been captive in the Pretoria zoo for ten years.
She told us how thrilled they were with excitement and anticipation when the eagle finally arrived in its cage and the gate was opened. But only with difficulty did they eventually succeed to nudge the bird out of its cage.
It was one thing to get the bird out of the cage, but how do you get the cage out of the bird? In the mind of this eagle, it was still captive in the Pretoria zoo!
Every one was holding their breath, but this once mighty bird remained the pathetic prisoner of an inferior mindset.
Nothing changed until much later when another eagle began to call in the area. The eyes of the zoo-eagle immediately lit up, and the next moment she took off in majestic flight to soar in unrestricted space. It needed no further flying instructions!

This dramatic story left a deep impression on my mind. I knew that in the light of Paul’s revelation of the good news, we are left with one urgent priority, which is to announce to the nations with bold confidence the truth about their original identity and mirror-reflect the integrity of their innocence.

Paul’s Gospel
In His letter to the Romans, Paul gives radical and immediate relevance to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a most distinguished fashion.

In studying this pivotal book of the Bible one begins to understand why Paul would so emphatically speak of his gospel.
He erases any illusion that one could possibly add or subtract from this revelation. It concerns the total wellbeing of universal mankind; how the Creator succeeded in redeeming and restoring His image and likeness in human form.
Paul is convinced that whatever happened to the human race because of Adam’s fall, is far superseded in every possible proportion by the revelation of mankind’s inclusion in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
He places the fall of Adam and every act of unrighteousness that followed against the one act of righteousness that God performed in Christ as the final acquittal of humanity.
Any instruction that still places the emphasis on man’s contribution according to the prescribed rules of the law to improve himself and his conduct, limits man again to personal discipline and effort under the futile system of the law of guilt and condemnation; and ignores the completed work of God in Christ.
“Even a little leaven leavens the whole lump” he says in his letter to the Galatians. (5:9)

The revelation of righteousness by faith unveils how God in Christ succeeded in restoring man’s lost sense of identity and innocence. The etymological essence of the word, ‘righteousness’ in its root form, ‘dike’, implies the idea of two parties finding likeness in each other; with no interference of any sense of blame, guilt or inferiority.

In his Epistles Paul declares in no uncertain terms that he did not make any effort to learn or borrow his revelation of the gospel from the original eleven disciples of Jesus.
“For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that I preach is not man’s gospel.
For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.
And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.
But God separated me from my mother’s womb and identified me through the revelation of His grace.
It pleased Him to reveal His Son in me, in order that I might preach Him in the Gentiles, I deliberately did not consult with anyone.” (Gal.1:11,12,15-17)
One would think that Paul missed out on a golden opportunity immediately after his conversion in that he did not study at first hand the detailed eye-witness information which the apostles had to offer him about Jesus of Nazareth.
But the impact of his encounter had distanced him even from the value he had previously placed on his own noble birth.
Whatever gain he felt that he might have had as descendant of the prominent lineage of Benjamin is discounted against the revelation of the greater spiritual identity of man. “From now on therefore I no longer know any man from a human point of view…” (2Cor.5:16.) “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, nor slave nor freeman, nor African nor Chinese, nor European nor American, neither male nor female…” (Gal.3:28)
Nothing distinguishes the individual more than the revelation of his original identity as preserved, restored and revealed again in Christ.
In Christ the image and likeness of the invisible Creator is accurately displayed again in human form. “It is in Him that God gives a full and complete expression of Himself. Moreover, your own completeness is realised only in Him.” (Col.1:15, and Col.2:9,10. Phillips Translation)

“He is not far from each one of us” Paul reminds the philosophers of Athens, “In Him we live and move and have our being; we are indeed His offspring…” (Acts 17:27,28.) The inner mirror of Christ says it all! Our likeness to Christ revealed within us brings real transformation; this realisation is so much more effective than wishful thinking, mere ‘window shopping’ or the exercise of our willpower! (2Cor.3:18)

Not once in Paul’s Epistles does he make mention of any miracles performed by Jesus, neither does he refer to any parable told by Him.

His mission and message was not to proclaim Christ revealed in history, but Christ revealed in us! (Rom.8:10)
He celebrates the harvest revealed in the single grain of wheat that would have remained alone, had it not been sown into the earth and died. (John 12:23,24)

The mystery that was hidden from generations of people was not understood by any of the rulers of this world. God documented this mystery in Christ’s incarnation for man’s glorification. Had they understood this they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. (1Cor.2:6-9) But they did not understand the mystery of God’s plan, how mankind was to be fully represented and included in Christ; how one would die for all, and how simultaneously all indeed died in His death. (2Cor.5:14) They did not know that all of humanity would be represented in the single act of one man and thus disarm the claim of darkness and ignorance over all people. “God has overlooked the times of ignorance.” (Acts 17:30)
History recorded the death and resurrection of one individual, eternity recorded the death of mankind and the new birth of the human species.

We have in our ignorance given far too much credit to the devil. He is defeated and disarmed! In the revelation of the gospel he is brought to nought and rendered completely powerless! (1Cor.2:6-8, Col.2: 14,15) His sole aim has always been to keep mankind as ignorant as he himself was concerning their inclusion in Christ. It was our ignorance and unbelief that empowered him to do so.

The only reference in the Old Testament to the resurrection on the 3rd day includes us! “On the third day He will raise us up!” (Hos.6:1,2) This is the scripture which ignited Paul’s understanding that we are all co-included in His death and triumphant resurrection. On whose terms were we qualified for inclusion?
“All this is from God,” says Paul in 2Cor.5:18; “Of God are we in Christ” (1Cor.1:30) “The ends of the earth in their future generations will know that the Lord has wrought it!” (Ps.22:31) This was accomplished on our behalf while we were still dead in our sins; while we were hostile and indifferent towards God. (Eph.2:5,6) Because we were raised together with Christ; let us now engage and occupy our thoughts with Throne Room realities and not with the futile contradictions and distractions of a lesser life. (Col.3:1-3)
After 3 years spent in isolation in Arabia Paul visits Jerusalem for two weeks and deliberately sees only two of the Apostles, Cephas and James, the Lord’s brother. What was it that distinguished Peter and James, the younger brother of Jesus, from the rest of the disciples? Why was Paul attracted specifically to them? Both these men shared a rare revelation with Paul: they no longer knew Jesus from a human point of view; they had discovered their own true identity in Christ.

Paul refers to Peter as Cephas in order to to emphasise the meaning rather than the familiar sound of his name! In Greek, the written language of his day, the word for rock was “Petros”, but in the spoken language, the Aramaic the word was “Cephas”.
In Mathew 16 Jesus asks the most important question in the Bible, “Who does man say the son of man is?” By revelation Simon asserts in response that Jesus is not the son of Joseph, but the Messiah. He is the promise of man’s redemption, the image and likeness of God restored to and fully displayed in human form; the son of the living God.
Notice how Jesus responds to him, “Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father. If I am the son of God then so are you! Your surname is no longer derived from your natural father in the flesh but from the Rock that begot you! (Deut.32:18, “Look to the Rock from which you were hewn.” Isaiah 51:1) Upon this Rock I will build My church. Greek, ecclesia.
The church is God’s answer to man’s lost identity. The word ‘ecclesia’ which Jesus introduces here does not refer to a building or an organisation, but to the original divine identity of mankind restored and revealed anew in Christ as in a mirror. The Greek preposition, ek, always refers to origin or source, (1Cor.1:30, Heb.2:11) and klesia, from kaleo means to surname or identify by name. The essential meaning and purpose of the church then is to extend the ministry of Jesus Christ which is to unveil the true Christlike identity of every man. “We were born anew into a living hope when Jesus was raised from the dead.” (1Pet.1:3)

Why, in addition to Peter, did Paul also visit James? (Gal.1:19) What had happened to James since the time when he had been standing distanced and indifferent to his brother Jesus’ ministry? (“Even His brothers did not believe in Him” John 7:5) What had brought him to write that our birth is of the Father of lights who brought us forth by the word of truth? Our true beginning is in God; we are God’s invention. And “if any man hears this word he sees the face of his birth as in a mirror.” He also states that it is possible to forget what manner of man you are, if you are being distracted from a faith-informed focus in the mirror of likeness, and revert again to to the double-minded opinion of the flesh. (Jam.1:17,18,24)
In 1Cor.15:7 Paul specifically mentions that Jesus had also appeared to James after the resurrection. I believe that the meaning of the ministry of Jesus dawned on him there. He now knew that his brother was indeed the Messiah. He suddenly understood that just like Jesus, his own genesis began in God; as indeed every man’s true birth, now represented and revealed in the resurrection. Joseph and Mary could not parent their original spirit origin.

Paul is convinced that something happened to mankind in the death and resurrection of Christ. The resurrection mirrors everyone’s new birth. This happened even before we knew about it. “He made us alive together with Him while we were still dead in our sins and raised us up together with Him.” (Eph.2:5) When Paul preaches the resurrection in Acts 13, he uses Psalm 2 as his text, “Today I have begotten you!” (Acts 13:30-33)
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1Cor.15:22) Jesus was not the second but the last Adam. The old things, (the old Adamic race) have passed away. ”The first Adam became a living soul, the last Adam was a life giving Spirit.” (1Cor.15:45)
“I am persuaded that because one died for all, therefore all have indeed died. From now on therefore I no longer regard any man from a human point of view; in Christ man has become a new creation, the old things have passed away, behold, everything has become new.” (2Cr.5:14,16,17)
When did all of mankind die? In Paul’s logic this happened when Jesus died. Jesus in His person represented all of God in human form and at the same time the whole of mankind.

Jesus did not come to start the Christian religion; He came to reveal every man’s true origin, identity and innocence. When the gospel was first preached to he Greeks, Barnabas was sent by the church in Jerusalem to investigate the reports. He saw the grace of God evident in them and instead of reporting back to the leadership of Jerusalem he immediately fetched Paul and gave him his first public pulpit. He knew and understood Paul’s revelation of Christ in man. It is no surprise to learn then that it was here in Antioch where for the first time believers were called Christians. (Acts 11)
“Ask of me the nations and I will give you the ends of the earth as your inheritance!” (Psalm 2:7,8) The conclusion of the cross is that the ends of the earth shall remember (their forgotten identity, Deut.32:18) and turn to the Lord. (Ps.22:27)

“I proclaim Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which was concealed in silence in the sequence of timeless ages, but now is made publicly known, mirrored in prophetic scripture.” (“Surely He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement that brought us peace was upon Him and by His stripes we were healed.” Isa.53:4,5) And now the God of the ages has issued His mandate to make the mystery known in such a way that all the nations of the earth will discover the lifestyle (obedience) that the hearing of faith ignites.” (Rom.16:25,26) “The conclusion is clear: it took just one offence to condemn mankind; one act of righteousness declares the same mankind innocent! The disobedience of the one man exhibits humanity as sinners, the obedience of another man exhibits humanity as righteous! (Rom.5:18,19)

The principle of faith then is to see what God sees. God calls things which seem not to be as though they were. (Rom.4:17) “While we look not at the things that the senses observe but we look at the revelation of the unseen as it is unveiled in the mirror reflection of Christ in every man. (2Cor3:18, 2Cor.4:18)

Heb 2:8 “Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to man.
Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Heb 2:10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
Heb 2:11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers.” (English Standard Version)

We did not plan or organise any ministry opportunities, but Father … together with some our precious friends … organised a whole lot of [...]]]> My family and I have spend the last four weeks in South Africa. It has been one of the most active ‘holidays’, both physically and spiritually, we’ve ever had.

We did not plan or organise any ministry opportunities, but Father … together with some our precious friends … organised a whole lot of opportunities to share this great gospel. The first weekend function took place at a student campus in Stellenbosch, but non of these gatherings were contained to a certain time or place – they seemed to spill over into homes and night after night we found ourselves amongst the beaming faces of people who have discovered great treasure.

This Gospel draws us to one another. The communication of our faith becomes effective by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in us in Christ Jesus. (Phm 1:6) The gospel is so much more than just a discovery of information … its a discovery of one-another; it is recognising every good thing which is in us in Christ Jesus; it is seeing beyond the clay pot and acknowledging the treasure within.

Eph 2:10 speaks of us as His workmanship. The word ‘workmanship’ was translated from the Greek word ‘poiema’ from which we also get the word ‘poem’. You are God’s poem! You are the product of His inspired utterance; His skilful, artistic and passionate expression. Eph 1:18 speaks about the riches and glory of His inheritance in the saints. Rom 8:17 declares that we are joint heirs together with Christ. In other words, His inheritance is our inheritance. What is His inheritance and where can it be found? Eph 1:18 shows that His inheritance does not consist of some temporal benefits, but it is people! Psalms 2:8 Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. Our inheritance is nothing less that the restoration of Gods original inspired thought, manifested in man. The lost coin never lost its value … there lies unimaginable value undiscovered in the next person you will encounter and that value is part of your inheritance – recognise it; awaken it.

Jesus recognised that value, in a prostitute who was caught in the act of adultery. Although everyone around Him, especially the religious, only saw a person worthy of condemnation, He saw God’s original thought about her, He valued her true design. Her deeds could not fool Him. In her encounter with Him she found such favour, such approval that the hold of sin lost its grip. Jesus could confidently tell her to go and sin no more. He did not need to refer her to three months of counselling to discover where the problem started. He knew that the demonstration of God’s favourable opinion about her carried enough weight to set her free. Jesus recognised this value in a madman for whom no-one had any hope. This recognition of God’s original thought – the true design of man – compelled Him to speak to a Samaritan woman of questionable repute at a time when it was unheard of for a Jew to speak to a Samaritan.

God wants to convince us of what He is convinced of; He wants us to see things from His perspective. This is why Paul wrote that he could no longer view any man from a human point of view. Paul understood that the death and resurrection of Jesus meant the death of the old Adamic race (that is why Jesus is called the last Adam, not the second Adam), and the resurrection of Christ meant the justification of man. Romans 4:25: who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous. Isaiah 66:8 Who ever heard of such a thing or imagined it could happen? Can a nation be born in a day or come to life in a second?

God is placing the same challenge before us saying: “Ask of me the nations, and I will give you the ends of the earth as your inheritance”

I started by mentioning our holiday in South Africa – I realise that I did not say much about the activities etc. But the greatest activity was discovering old and new friends & family in the light of the words above.

Just one bit of news: Mary-Anne recorded her CD!

We’ll publish some songs soon!

Andre & Mary-Anne Rabe

www.hearhim.net.