Of Doctrines of The Church

Truth In Christ Topical Commentaries: Is it God? or is it man?

Part One:

A brief outline of basic spiritual principles:
In the middle of the last century, we were satisfied in our Church and Sunday school to learn the simplified and ‘in general’ statements as to how every thing was made by God, and how it is maintained, by God, the Creator, until certain times when He make the predetermined changes for His own specific purpose, and reasons, which times and accomplishments in His plan He alone would determine, like: Creation, making man, giving us His Word, the Holy Bible (KJV), Sunday is the ‘Lord’s day’, God spoke and the universe appeared, we should go to every service of the church we attend, giving right and dressing right, guarding our tongues; and all of those simple declarations of those who conducted things in our churches, for, then, those things we believed, and were 'ok' with them in simplest form.

 And all of that was good. \

A lot of good people who did great things have come out of those days, and firmly established vital principles, which hold strong to this very day.

 Also, we were firmly convinced of all those things we were taught regarding heaven, hell, sin, the White Throne judgment, the truth of the Word, eternity, the Holy Bible (KJV), and the established practices of the churches we attended, without question, so to speak. But that was then.

Daniel spoke of a different time, a time thereafter, as follows:
Daniel 12:4:
 4) "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words (of the book you have written, which I spoke in secret unto you), and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run (move swiftly) to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."

So, basically, what was said here concerning knowledge, is that there will be an increased hunger for knowledge of all descriptions, both spiritual, and worldly, and that hunger will continue to thirst for more knowledge, and more detail, because a 'simple' belief (or doctrine) will no longer be acceptable.
It will become a 'prove it to me' stage of events at that 'different' time.

 And this is that 'different' time.

But we still have the same God (‘I am the Lord, I change not‘), the same One and only Savior of lost souls (Acts 4:12; John 14:6), the same Church that Jesus built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets (Ephesians 2:19-20; Acts 2:4; Acts 10:43-48; Matthew 16:18), the same plan of salvation (John 3:16-18; Acts 10:43), the same basic doctrines (ordinances) of the church:
(II Timothy 2:15; II Timothy 3:16-17; I Corinthians 1:10), and the same truth, by the same Spirit of truth, as we receive the baptism (being saturated) with the Holy Ghost (John 1:32-34;
Acts 19:1-7; John 16:12-13; and then this will occur in your life as a believer, and as one who has been baptized with the Holy Ghost: John 8:32, 36).
But now, in these final days of the Church on the earth, since that original ordinance of the Church is being restored, which is the 'baptism with the Holy Ghost' (John 1:33; Acts 2:4; Acts 19:43-48...), as the apostles experienced, and obviously every new believer in Jesus Christ, of the Jews, and of the Gentiles (all nations: Matthew 28:18-20), which includes the Samarians, which (the baptism with the Holy Ghost, which is the perpetual fulfilment in the Church, of that prophecy of Joel 2:28-29), we are being given more spiritual understanding of the truths by that operation of Jesus from heaven, which have been in scriptures for thousands of years, written by the prophets, and the apostles, in the scriptures, and which contain the hidden truths, the concealed knowledge and wisdom of God within the 'word of truth'; whereby many (those who have welcomed, and received the baptism with the Holy Ghost (John 16:12-13) have been given the 'greater understanding; of those mysteries in the scriptures (I Corinthians 2:14), just as Paul the apostle was given to understand the hidden truth, and the mysteries of the secrets, the wisdom and knowledge of God, the Lord God our heavenly Father is finding those who have an ear to hear, as Paul heard, and wrote so mightily in the epistles which he wrote to the Church, and to the churches.
 Those same practices and procedures, doctrines and ordinances, which were exercised in the early Church have not changed.
Neither have they ceased, or been replaces with anything else; but they have been misunderstood, and misinterpreted:
 The gospel, the scripture, the Spirit of truth, the Way to God through Christ only, receiving remission of sins, and everlasting life, according to the promise of the Father by Jesus Christ:
(Acts 2:38-39; Acts 1:4-5; Acts 10:43-48).
 But we, through the many centuries, have abandoned and revoked that very truth, which has caused us to drift apart from one another, dividing the body of Christ into denominations, placing obstacles, and partitions, and borders between the brothers and sisters, whom Jesus commanded in:
 John 13:34-35:
 34) “A new commandment I give unto you, ‘That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
 35) “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

And how are we doing with this pattern which God gave us for the Church?:
 I Corinthians 1:10: (Ref: Exodus 25:40 regarding 'all things...showed thee'):
 10) “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

Score a hundredpercent on that one?

Why not? What are the real reasons why we are not fulfilling that admonishing, that commandment of the Lord?

I can tell you from God’s point of view on that score.
God loves you with immense and continuous love, in spite of our shortcomings, contentions and neglect of keeping His specific and concise commandments through Jesus Christ: and so do I; and that is why I write what He tells me to write to each person in the world.
(Deuteronomy 18:18-19; John 14:21-24; John 14:15-17)

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus, I have been where so many others are, regarding the separatism, and divisionalism, and denominationalism, which is freely exercised without fear of God’s reprimand or punishment for our lack of proper behavior toward those who do not agree with our own doctrines, which were developed in an age before these times, when all of the truth was not known, as it must be known today; but because we have not honored the ministry of Jesus as believers (John 1:33), so many still do not know the truth; and consequently, rely on the principles developed by our loving forefathers, each in our particular denominations.
 But we’ve been away too long! Now it is time to become those to whom this prophecy was given in about 725 B. C.:
 Hosea 6:1-3:
 1) “Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up.
 2) “After two days will He revive us (out of our sleep): in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight (restored from our blindnesses).
 3) “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth (before us) is prepared as the morning (the awakening, the awareness, the refreshing, the beginning of our preparation for the specific work of that day, the new day, the arising of the Sun (Daystar); and He shall come unto us as the rain (outpouring), as the latter (rain, or outpouring of His Spirit, to which we shall refer as the ‘Elisha’ rain, which shall be greater than the former rain, the first outpouring upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost), and the former (rain also, as the apostles first received the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, together with the latter rain; and we shall call the former rain, the ‘Elijah’ rain, for we must be more prepared for the last and final harvest of souls, and the coming together of the believers of all denominations, according to the will of God in these last days.
 And I will tell you how God said He will do this, for it is plainly written in the scriptures; and revealed by the Spirit of truth: therefore, it must be done, for God said it would: Hosea 6:1-2.
 And He will bring us into His perfect will, as we each submit to Him in all humility and obedience to His word and sayings and commandments. For we, each and every believer, are totally answerable only to God, as the scripture says: Romans 14:10-12.

All of the things which I shall write are already given in the scriptures, but they are given in such a way that I will bring them all together in one place, instead of the many places in God’s written word where they have been written. That is why I call these writings ‘Topical’, for I will write these truths in a topical form, making them more easily seen and understood by the diligent seeker of God.

Isaiah 28:9-10:
 9) “Whom shall He teach knowledge? And whom shall He make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
 10) “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:”

Isaiah 55:8-11: God’s thoughts and ways; our thoughts and ways:
 8) “ ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways’, saith the Lord.
 9) “ ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’
 10) “ ‘For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
 11) “ ‘So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.’.”

Be one with us who will humble ourselves before God and man, keeping the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, which words and sayings are from our heavenly Father
(Deuteronomy 18:18-19; John 14:21-24).

This ministry, and this writer, will not quibble, be in contention with, demean, judge or despise my sister and brother believers in our Lord over doctrinal differences (Romans chapter 14; key words: 'judge another man’s (God's) servant', 'despise', 'unto the Lord', 'giveth thanks', 'charitable', and other words which may indicate that some things are not in the way of peace, to which we, the family of God, are called).
I only combat non-truth by teaching truth, for I must ‘overcome evil with good.’. I war only with my own flesh, and not with the flesh of other sisters and brothers, because:
Ephesians 6:12:
12) “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Beloved of the Lord, do not envy another’s ministry. You have your calling, and every ministry is, in particular, totally and specifically necessary to the proper functions of the body of Christ, the Church. (I Corinthians 12:12-27)
Many who seem so ‘successful’, and so ‘knowledgeable’ in the things of the Lord, and in their called ministry, are actually fuelled by the prayers of an insignificant lady past middle-age, graying, slender, having grandchildren, silently sitting on a seat toward the back of the auditorium, praying for the success of each and every service, that it will glorify the Lord our God, and bring many to Christ, and teach all believers how to pray for someone else; and that is her ministry.
God alone knows what He is doing in every thing; and we don’t need to know it all: therefore, I just do as He says, whether it agrees with my understanding or not: ‘He will bring it to pass.’.
Remember? He is the 'Potter': We are the 'clay'. He will 'mold us' as we ought to be, and not as our own flesh ('with its affections and lusts', which are not inclined toward God's way) wants us to become.

God bless you, and may God open your understanding in all things as you diligently seek Him, and His truth, and His righteousness: Ephesians 2:8-10.