Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Thanksgiving Day - What Does It Mean to You?


 

Greetings to all of our dear friends here in America, and all around the world! Our friends in Brussels, Belgium; Surrey, Canada; Singapore; Weimar, Germany; and Piteå, Sweden. Thank you for your love and support, and friendship! It means a great deal to us here at the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries and our affiliated churches in Owensboro, Kentucky, and Athens, Alabama.

Here in the United States of America Thanksgiving Day sadly appears to mean not much more than a juicy turkey dinner, a family reunion, or a football game on the telly! The greater majority of our fellow Americans have seemingly lost the very fact that THANKSGIVING means giving thanks. But to whom are we to give thanks!? And what are we to give thanks for!?

In 1696 my 7th great-grandfather James Johnston, Sr. sailed westward through the rough Atlantic from Scotland to America. He landed on the coast of Virginia and would eventually acquire 150 acres of land in the Pamunkey (River) Neck of northern Virginia. Surely many a man who sailed to the New World sensed that their endeavors were being favored by the very hand of God. Those early settlers seemed to grasp the grandeur of a special opportunity and the great blessing of an almighty. And because of this, the indications show us, the majority were thankful. At least at first.

History shows us that the very first “Thanksgiving Day” originated at Plymouth Colony in December of 1621. On that first official “Thanksgiving Day” they thanked Almighty God that they were still alive and had enough to eat. Truly, the majority of the Pilgrims did recognize God as the TRUE SOURCE of their blessings. Sadly, with the passage of time and an innumerable amount of illegal immigrants from other lands who do not wish to assimilate into our cultural history (since our founding in the late 18th century)— the knowledge of the true source is nearly nonexistent … and here are some stats – and because Google is biased, this stat was located on the third search page of their search engine!
November 25, 2021

A study on migration to the Unites States found that 67 percent of the undocumented immigrants who are living in the country migrated from Central America and Mexico. …

The project shows that Mexicans make up 48 percent (5.31 million) of the 11 million undocumented immigrants population.

Salvadorians (741,000) and Guatemalans (724,000) each represent slightly over 7 percent of the undocumented immigrants who call the U.S. home. People from Honduras make up the remainder of the two-thirds, with around 4 percent of illegal migrants - 490,000 people - coming from there. …

The report also discovered people from India comprise the next largest group of illegal immigrants, with around 500,000 undocumented people in the US.

When you type in “Where most illegal immigrants come from” in the Google search engine the very first result is from Insider Monkey from a 2017 article which states, “After winning the election, he [speaking about President Donald Trump] continued on the path, determined to weed out the undocumented immigrants, turning his ire on the so-called sanctuary cities, which harbor and attempt to protect their undocumented population.” So, this certainly shows us which direction this author, as well as this mega-giant company, leans! There is nothing "so-called" about it! Sanctuary cities DO EXIST! - see "Sanctuary Cities in the United States 2022." Again, retrieved 23/11/22.

But, today in this 21st century present evil age, the vast majority of Americans probably don’t even think of God our Father or our Lord Jesus Christ His Son on Thanksgiving Day. Much less actually praying to Him to give Him thanks. Far too many Americans have come to accept that this national holiday is just for friends and family to come together to stuff themselves with too much food and drink. Our awesome Creator God – the very family of God – is left out of the picture! As a friend not long ago told me when she came over to visit, “You’re not gonna get godly on me, are you!?” Well, God is not acknowledged as THE SOURCE of blessings. Sadly, my own wife often says when I speak of our great blessings from the Almighty, “God had nothing to do with my success in life – I did it!” But I remind her that it is God that gives her the strength and power to have this great success in life. “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” – James 1:16-17.

Our very Lord Jesus Christ says, speaking of God the Father, “ …’ He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust’ – Matthew 5:45. Even though a growing number of our peoples may not believe this, GOD IS THE SOURCE OF OUR LIFE AND OF EVERY GOOD THING WE ENJOY AND HOLD DEAR! God blesses even the evil with the basic necessities of life.

Since the first “Thanksgiving Day” some twenty generations ago, the real meaning of this national holiday has gradually deteriorated throughout American history! Sadly, even when the name Christopher Columbus comes up most are notoriously negative, accusing him of the most heinous and exaggerated crimes such as genocide, hurting the development of indigenous people, biological warfare, sex slavery, and enslavement of innocent people leading to the Transatlantic Slave Trade!

Throughout these two – hundred and forty – six years ago, our U.S. presidents preserved and passed onto us Thanksgiving Day. They, for the most part, believed in God and in the Holy Bible as THE SOURCE of national greatness, integrity, and blessings. Our Founding Father who served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797, George Washington, issued the first presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation in honor of the brand new Constitution of the United States. In it he begins, “It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.”

How many of our fellow Americans believe this and give thanks to God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!? Sadly, and we have spoken of this before, Christianity in America is in rapid decline – here is a 2019 Pew Research Center article that states –
“Telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, 65 percent of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 percentage points over the past decade. Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” now stands at 26 percent, up from 17 percent in 2009.”


Most Americans today certainly don’t acknowledge God’s living word – the Holy Bible – as our Creator’s inspired word by which all U.S. presidents should rule our nation.

Yet, His living word emphatically told the children of Israel – as He tells us this day – “’ Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19) And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes’” – Deuteronomy 17:18-19.

The LORD God tells us that all kings, presidents, and prime ministers of a nation or province should read it all the days of their lives so that they can learn to reverently fear Him and be careful to observe all His words and statutes.

Our beloved 16th President Abraham Lincoln in his 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation stated, “The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God. … I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.”

He knew the nations’ blessings came from God – and he rightly stated so – “No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

In one of his earliest political speeches, given at the Young Man’s Lyceum in 1838, he told his fellow Americans, “We find ourselves in the peaceful possession of the fairest portion of the earth as regards extent of territory, fertility of soil, and salubrity of climate. … We, when mounting the stage of existence, found ourselves the legal inheritors of these fundamental blessings.”

On March 30th, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed a resolution that he proclaim a National Day of Prayer and Fasting. In it, he states, “It is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. … It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”

The LORD God’s WARNING

Friends, we as a nation today are in SERIOUS TRIBULATIONS! We, as a nation, have TURNED OUR BACKS TO THE LORD GOD! And the LORD God has withdrawn Their blessings from us as a nation.

On my personal Facebook page – before it was “deleted” by Meta Platforms, Inc. ™ — I was posting a whole plethora of grave tribulations which were occurring all around the world, entitled “This Chaotic World.” Until, the LORD our God revealed to me His living word in Jeremiah chapter 7, concerning the descendants of the children of Israel, “’ Therefore DO NOT pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you’” – Jeremiah 7:16; 11:14. Truly, there comes a time in the progression of the downfall of a society or a group or a nation, a time when God says, ‘I’m just done with it!’ ‘I’m done messing with them!’ At that point, you’re wasting your time even praying for them. I mean when Noah was in that huge boat, and the rains fell and the waters rose, do you think Noah was on the top deck praying for the people!? The judgment of God had already been made! Do you think that Lot and his two daughters when they were struggling to get away from the plain of Sodom and Gomorrah, do you really think that God wanted them to turn around and go, “O’ these poor people”!? “O’ God help them!” There was no praying for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, it was over! God had rendered His judgment and He was executing it. And so, the people of America, the people who say, ‘In God We Trust,’ but a society which is so mucked up now, it sometimes will get you in trouble if you even say the name Jesus Christ in public. There’s going to come a time when God Almighty and Jesus Christ say, ‘I’m just done with it!’ ‘It’s over!’ ‘Let the end-time trauma begin!’

Notice this DIRE WARNING FROM THE LORD OUR GOD –

“’ Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by NOT KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS, HIS JUDGMENTS, and HIS STATUTES which I command you today, 12) lest — when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13) and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied; and ALL THAT YOU HAVE IS MULTIPLIED; … 17) then you say in your heart [as my own wife does this day], ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18) And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.’

19) Then it shall be, IF you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods [including, my friends, the Idolization of Politics!], and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20) As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God’” – Deuteronomy 8:11-13, 17-20.

The LORD our God spoke this grave warning to the ancient children of Israel, but it applies TODAY to the modern-day United States of America and to the United Kingdom and her Commonwealth countries – which includes Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Along with, of course, modern-day Israel.

The LORD our God says to all nations –

“’ But it shall come to pass, IF you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you’” – Deuteronomy 28:15.

And as we have spoken before – also the curse of TERROR!

“’ I also will do this to you: I will even appoint TERROR OVER YOU, …’” – Leviticus 26:16. A great many people are running when no one is pursuing them – Leviticus 26:17. Biblical prophecies are being confirmed! Ever more terror is coming!— unless we, as a nation, repent and turn unto God!

What does all this have to do with the Thanksgiving Day holiday!?

This: Our careless, growing atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” decadent, adulterous generation and way of life have stripped bare the true value and meaning of the Thanksgiving Day holiday. God our Father and God our Savior – the living Jesus Christ!

Give thanks to God always for our blessings in the greatest of nations! □


Saturday, November 19, 2022

Letter to our Friends - November 18, 2022

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST ONLINE MINISTRIES
We are based upon the Word of God, the Truth of God, and the Plan of God

P.O. Box 6458
Spring Hill, Florida 34606



Leonard V Johnson
Pastor/Overseer


Greetings friends from Central West Florida:

I’ve been a bit under the weather for the past five days. I caught the flu. Been having plenty of rest and fluids. Should be back on my feet soon. Hopefully, in time for Thanksgiving.

Feast in Kenya

Brother Erick Odhiambo sent the following report about the 2022 Feast of Tabernacles in Kenya.
Dear Brother Leonard,

Am sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. But I have not been well since we came back from the Feast of Tabernacles.


I would wish to inform you that a wonderful Feast of Tabernacles was opened on 7th October 2022 evening. This was the most enjoyable feast in Ndhiwa Center, Kenya. The happiest week of all the weeks. Some brethren were also with us at the feast though they have not been with us. I was very happy with the Feast of Tabernacles of 2022 because God’s church obeyed the commandment and reached at the feast site at the appointed time. Our brethren from Bumala,Narok, Mombasa and Muhuru Bay that were attended and keep the Feast of Tabernacles in Ndhiwa reached the same day. The opening hours found everybody inside the tents. Day one was a wonderful day and brethren enjoyed chicken, juices and snacks. The faces were smiling and the temperature was good. The sermonette was done by me.

On Wednesday we had free walking in the afternoon where brethren visited different places to see God’s creations. Some went to Ruma national park where we they saw different kinds of animals, like buffalo, Rhinos, Antelope, Giraffes etc. Ndhiwa feast site is surrounded by so wonderful sites. We have Lake Victoria, the fresh water lake.

There was also a luncheon for brethren above 60 years of age and I was able to organize a special day where they were left alone to study and have special meals so that they would then teach the young people how to live and only follow Jesus in this deceived world. Proverbs 1:8-9 “My Son hear the instruction of your Father and do not forsake the law of you mother for they will be graceful ornament on your head and chains about your neck.” Proverbs 3:1 “My son, do not forget my Law but let your heart keep my commandments for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you”.

We did baptized some, George, his wife, Fredrick, Oyomno his brother and his wife They are now really supporting full affiliation with Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries. They 
were really happy about the baptism.

Most of our sermons and sermonette were based on:
  • Feast Focus
  • The Feast of Tabernacles and Ingathering
  • Teachers in the Millennium
  • Eliminating stress in the Millennium
  • Seven Laws of Success in the Millennium
  • Judges in the Millennium
  • Meaning of the Last Great Day- Contracts
  • Rejoice
  • Basic Essentials
  • Keeping Focused
  • A Pure Language
  • The End of All Tears
  • Offertory- Giving with Joy
  • Approaching the End of the Age
May you continue to do and spread His word to His people.

Your in His service,
Erick Odhiambo.
We are so pleased that all went well. And we are pleased that people are answering God’s call.

Our Lord Jesus Christ says, ’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. … 10) Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents’ – Luke 15:7, 10.

Indeed, there should be much rejoicing!

Adulterous Generation

As I spoke about in my latest Personal, in the search bar on our website our friends are wanting to know just what our Lord Jesus Christ meant when He stated, “’ A wicked and adulterous generation.’

Here’s an excerpt from Minister Michael C. Garrett’s book “Notes Regarding The Day of Atonement – Prophetically the Day of the Lord!” –
“Jeremiah 25 … Verses 4-6 - Now, one of the Ten Commandments states, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ And, all of the Ten Commandments have a sort of, physical nature to them. However, they have a much more powerful spiritual meaning! And so when you come to the word adultery – and we all know what adultery is. And, Paul went on to describe all forms of sexual misconduct could, sort of, fall under that general plank of ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ But he’s not just talking about physical adultery – the betrayal of a man or a wife to their mate. It has a much more expansive meaning. In the mind of God, He married ancient ISRAEL. They became His bride. A beautiful picture of this is in Ezekiel 16, and His thoughts about it. However, Israel has NEVER been true to God. They’ve NEVER been faithful, and one of the sins which they commit with great regularity – and most people of this land don’t even know about it.

Is murder the worst sin!? No, King David committed murder, and it was WRONG, and he was punished sorely, however, murder is not the worse sin you could do. Is stealing!? Is lying!? Some people would say, “Well, cheating on your mate!” Well, if that is true, then many of the households in America have a horrible black cloud over it! Because quite frankly, many Americans have not been faithful to their marriage vows. What’s the worst mistake you could make!? Is committing spiritual adultery! Separating yourself from God Almighty and Jesus Christ by GOING AFTER FALSE RELIGION.”

(Garrett, M.C. Notes Regarding The Day of Atonement – Prophetically the Day of the Lord! 2019, pp. 17; capitalization and boldness added for emphasis).
Our Lord Jesus WARNS us, brethren –

’ Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. … Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery [spiritual adultery] with her into great tribulation [that’s the end-time ‘great tribulation’], UNLESS THEY REPENT OF THEIR DEEDS. I will kill her children with death, …’

He is referring to allowing someone to teach you things NOT according to the living word of God – and you begin taking them up as a doctrine.

The Apostle Paul speaks of this in the Book of Galatians –

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, …” – and here’s a list by Paul a third time. “ … which are: adultery [including, of course, spiritual adultery – going after false gods], fornication, [the Greek word porneia, meaning sexual immorality, prostitution, a generic term for sexual sin of any kind – Strong’s Concordance #4202] uncleanness, lewdness, 20) idolatry, sorcery [witchcraft], hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath …” – indeed, I would say what is happening in America today with civil unrest, the violent protesting would be considered ‘outbursts of wrath’ – wouldn’t you!? “ … selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21) envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” – Galatians 5:19-21.

We teach this meaning all throughout our sermons and articles, such as –
Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day is not of pagan origin. Here is an article by David J. Silverman in the Encyclopædia Britannica:
“Americans generally believe that their Thanksgiving is modeled on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people. … The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “Thanksgivings,” days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought. … Sarah Josepha Hale, campaigned for a national Thanksgiving Day to promote unity. She finally won the support of President Abraham Lincoln. On October 3, 1863, during the Civil War, Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26. The holiday was annually proclaimed by every president thereafter, and the date is chosen, with few exceptions, was the last Thursday in November.”

As Americans living in the United States, we learned early that our Thanksgiving Day comes from the group of people known as Pilgrims. As true Christians, we are not required nor commanded to keep this national holiday. However, Jesus Christ Himself appeared to have kept a national Jewish holiday known as the Feast of Dedication – John 10:22-23.

Let us, friends, always give praise and thanks to Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ for blessing us with the understanding of Their Plan of salvation. We should be thankful for being a part of those chosen in this age.

“Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name” – Psalm 30:4.

“Rejoice always, 17) pray without ceasing, 18) in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

Giving thanks to GOD for blessing us physically and spiritually, and having the opportunity to grow in Their grace and knowledge – the purpose of life itself and of God’s Way of life, of the glorious sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and for the opportunity for immortality and of eternal life which They have given to us is certainly very appropriate. Let us, friends, always be thankful for the understanding of GOD’s great Plan of redemption for mankind and the coming establishment of the Kingdom of God upon this earth for peace, abundance, and prosperity.

Friends, despite the very fact that God the Father and Jesus Christ will come along with the myriads of his holy ones (the holy saints of God), “to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 14. See also 1 Enoch 1:9), They do have a Plan to bring peace and prosperity to this planet! (See: Notes Concerning the Day of Atonement – Prophetically the Day of the Lord!) and will offer salvation to all (See our sermon Salvation OFFERED To All).

Now, if one has a problem of conscience in celebrating Thanksgiving Day – then don’t. But, always give thanks and praise to Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ!

Suggested Sabbath Day Service

Here is this week's suggested Sabbath service:

● 2 hymns. (we have an online The Bible Hymnal, along with many hymns with a Choral Accompaniment on our website www.owensborocojc.com).
● An opening prayer.
● Suggested sermon: “Miracles and Prayer” delivered by Minister Leonard Johnson.
Additional sermons are available at:
● Final hymn.
● A closing prayer.

IN CASE YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED A ‘LETTER TO OUR FRIENDS’ FOR ANY WEEK, REMEMBER WE HAVE OUR CHURCH LETTERS ON OUR WEBSITE.

World News In Relation To Biblical Prophecy – reading our news teletype.

This last Tuesday, the Mormons – the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints – officially endorsed the improperly titled “Respect for Marriage Act.” The United States of Sins' Senate passed this bill. The Alliance Defending Freedom has correctly concluded this bill will hurt religious freedom along with churches who attempt to hold to biblical morals regarding sexuality and marriage (See: East Bay Times - Mormon Church voices support for same-sex marriage law’ along with 14 News - Mormon church supports legislation for gay marriage’).

On Wednesday, the United States of Sins' Senate approved the bill:
November 16, 2022

The Chuck Schumer-run U.S. Senate on Wednesday turned “hostile” to Americans’ Christian beliefs, and even 12 Republicans joined with the leftists in the Democrat Party to advance a bill that undermines the First Amendment. …

“Right now, government officials across the country—including the Biden administration—argue in court that individuals and religious organizations who love and work with people from all walks of life should face civil and criminal penalties if they don’t abandon their beliefs on this issue. It is shameful that 62 senators chose to ignore the Constitution and sanction discrimination toward these Americans. Make no mistake, this bill will be used by officials and activists to punish and ruin those who do not share the government’s view on marriage.” …

The scheme destroys the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act and provides special protections for same-sex ideologies.

U.S. President Joe Biden has pushed for this bill and is expected to sign it into law.

Thereby the United States of Sin will then have a law that sinful behavior is LEGAL! What about us, brethren, who consider that same-sex “marriage” is an abomination in the eyes of Almighty God!? Well, as many are pointing out, there is coming down the line, egregious troubles for the true saints of God because of this bill.

Friends, although this Roman Catholic Joe Biden and the people of his ilk, like the Mormon Mitt Romney are endorsing this sin, homosexuality and lesbianism are plainly condemned by the LORD God! Not only in the Old Testament but also in the New Testament. Notice the following from… the very Book which U.S. President Joe Biden is supposedly reading from, the Roman Catholic translation of the Holy Bible:

“Therefore God has given them up in the lustful desires of their heart to UNCLEANNESS, so that they dishonor their own bodies among themselves —25) they who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever, amen.

26) For this cause God has given them up to SHAMEFUL LUSTS; for their women have exchanged the NATURAL USE for that which is against nature, 27) and in like manner the men also, having abandoned the NATURAL USE of the women, having burned in their lusts one towards another, men with men DOING SHAMEFUL THINGS and receiving in themselves the fitting recompense of their perversity” – Romans 1:24-27, Challoner-Rheims Version.

The Apostle Paul warns us in 1st Corinthians –

“Or do you not know that the unjust will not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err; neither FORNICATORS, nor IDOLATERS, nor ADULTERERS, 10) nor the EFFEMINATE [the likes of transsexuals and transgenders], nor SODOMITES [speaking of homosexuals], nor DRUNKARDS, nor the EVIL-TONGUED, nor the GREEDY will possess the kingdom of God” – 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, again the Challoner-Rheims Version.

Even in the Roman Catholic Version of God’s living word, I don’t know how much clearer the Apostle Paul could have been!? Note that he mentions Sodomites are homosexuals.

Also, notice that our Lord Jesus Christ – the very One that made all things (John 1:3) teaches us that marriage is between a man and a woman. Let us continue with the Roman Catholic Version –

’ But FROM THE BEGINNING OF CREATION God made them male and female. 7) ‘For this cause A MAN shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, 8) and the two shall become ONE FLESH.’ [He was reiterating what He had said in Genesis 2:24] Therefore now they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9) What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder’ – Mark 10:6-9.

The Apostle John – under the divine inspiration of God’s Spirit – writes in the Book of Revelation condemnation of those who practice (or even approve) of homosexuality and lesbianism –

“Outside are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the FORNICATORS, and the MURDERERS, and the IDOLATERS, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” – Apocalypse 22:15.

In the Jamieson Fausset and Brown Commentary, the word “dogs” – Greek, “the dogs”; the impure, filthy (vs. 11; cf. Phil. 3:2). 1 Let us also note that in Hebrew, the word is keleb, as in Deuteronomy 23:18 means “by extension of a person of low status, an immoral person: a male prostitute.

Again, the Apostle Paul –

“I wrote to you in the letter not to associate with the immoral [cf, 2 Thess. 3:14] —10) not meaning, of course, the immoral of this world, or the covetous, or the greedy, or idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world. 11) But now I write to you not to associate with one who is called a brother [one claiming to be a member of the living Church of God], if he is immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or evil-tongued, or a drunkard, or greedy; with such a one not even take food” – 1 Corinthians 5:9-11.

Here is the Hebrew/Greek Key Word Study Bible (NASB) of the same Scripture –

“I wrote you in my letter 1992 not to pipassociate with immoral people; 4205 10) I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with aidolaters; 1496 for then you would have to ainfgo out of the world. 2889 11) But Iactually, I wrote to you not to associate IIwith any pppso-called abrother 80 if he should be an immoral person 4205 or covetous, or b an idolater, or a reviler, 3060 or a drunkard, or a swindler —mot to even eat with such a one” – 1 Corinthians 5:9-11, NASB.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would not have endorsed His followers fellowshipping with those claiming to be His followers, yet were practicing (or approving in) immorality – as defined by the LORD God! Lasciviousness – aselgeia, debauchery, sensuality, lewdness, filthy.

In the Old Testament, God’s living word teaches us –

“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; such a thing IS AN ABOMINATION” – Leviticus 18:22.

“If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives” – Leviticus 20:13.

The LORD God – the very God family that said, “’ Let Us make mankind in Our image and likeness; … In the image of God [Elohim] He created them. MALE and FEMALE He created them” – Genesis 1:26, 27 – prohibits and condemns homosexual or lesbian behavior – He calls it an abomination!

God’s living word – the Holy Bible – also teaches us that homosexuality and lesbianism are DANGEROUS! With the sexual act playing such a prominent part [i.e., of the Laws of Moses] it is to be expected, therefore, that the practice of such idolatry would be followed by retribution in the form of venereal disease. 2 Homosexuality and lesbianism are a symbol of extreme rebellion against the LORD God and harbinger of His wrath. Indeed, like this ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ bill – which is expected to be signed by the president into law - parts of our life today prohibit “buying or selling” without first accepting the normalcy of homosexuality as a precondition — eerily foreshadowing the consequence of resisting the “beast” and its “mouthpiece” in Revelation 13:17.

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” – Galatians 6:7.

Truly, the rainbow in the sky is intimately associated with the God family and Their awesome power!

“And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald” – Revelation 4:3.

Friends, it is no mere coincidence that this modern-day LGBTQ+ movement, so hostile to God’s living word, has hijacked the symbol of the rainbow itself. It is a hallmark of an Antichrist spirit to claim God’s very throne itself – cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:4.

Why even speak of this!? Because the LORD God has a grave WARNING for ‘this generation’ –

“ … the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them AN EXAMPLE to those who afterward would live ungodly” – 2 Peter 2:6.

“as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, HAVING GIVEN THEMSELVES OVER TO SEXUAL IMMORALITY and GONE AFTER STRANGE FLESH [not only homosexuality and lesbianism but also beastiality], are set forth AS AN EXAMPLE, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” – Jude 1:7.

In conclusion here, my friends take special note that the Apostle Peter warns us of the rise in what is being called “Queer Theology” in these latter days –

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2) Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the Way of the truth will be maligned; [take note of this news story officially endorsed the improperly titled “Respect for Marriage Act”]. … 4) For if God did not spare … 5) … the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6) and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter; 7) and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men … 9) then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 10) and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. …

12) But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct … 13) … They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. … reveling in their deceptions as they carouse with you. 14) having eyes full of adultery and that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, … 15) forsaking the right Way they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam  … 18) … speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, sensuality, … 19) promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; …” – 2 Peter 2:1-2, 4, 5-7, 9-10, 12, 13-14, 15, 18, 19, NASB.

Concluding Comments

Prophet Micah was inspired by God to write:

“Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At mornings light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. They cover fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance.

Therefore, the LORD says, 'I AM planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity. In that day men will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: 'We are utterly ruined; my people's possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors’” —Micah 2:1-4; NIV.

Friends, often it looks as if Satan the devil’s liars and his workers of iniquity are ‘getting away’ with their behavior. But that will soon change. And, so will the pride of the nations. Do not believe that all will continue as it is – for God’s Word is true and sure!

As always Friends, you can contact us here at pastorleonard1@yahoo.com, or write us a letter to the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries P.O. Box 6458 Spring Hill, Florida, 34606.

With love and gratitude, in Jesus' Name,




1) Jamieson, R., Fausset, A.R., Brown, D., Jamieson Fausset and Brown Commentary of the Whole Bible, Zondervan Publishing House, 1982, pp. 1591.
2) Willcox, R.R., Venereal Disease In the Bible, March 1, 1949, pdf format - https://sti.bmj.com/content/sextrans/25/1/28.full.pdf.

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

A Morning Bible Study - The Need For God's Spirit


Leonard V Johnson    About


Recall from the previous A Morning Bible Study that we spoke of God’s Holy Spirit. The LORD God offered His Holy Spirit to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Had they partook of the fruit of the tree of Life, they would have received His Holy Spirit. And, I want you to understand that mankind was going to die – no matter if they were to choose the tree of Life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Had they chosen the tree of Life, they would still have lived out their days and died; and indeed we find this did happen, “So all the days that Adam lived were 930 years; and he died” – Genesis 5:5 – but would have, after losing consciousness, “in the twinkling of an eye,” been resurrected unto eternal life! We, of course, know just who our first parents listened to. Satan the Devil. They instead partook of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They partook of the tree of death – cf. Revelation 20:14-15; 21:7-8. They CUT THEMSELVES OFF FROM GOD AND HIS SPIRIT.

Why did the LORD God offer His Spirit to Adam and Eve in the first place!? And, why has the LORD our God offered His Spirit to a few since “the beginning of the ages”? Why is it so vital?

It is extremely IMPORTANT that you understand God’s living truth about this subject.

Not long ago I sent a brother an encouraging text message in which I stated – The reason that we have been called out of THIS present evil world and not the next is so that we learn. Because we MUST, like our Lord Jesus, overcome this world, ourselves, and the evil one (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 11-12, 21). So that we can be teachers, kings, and priests (Rev. 5:10) in the World Tomorrow. This divine truth alone has been blinded to the masses.

Truly, God’s living word – your Holy Bible – reveals that we were born for a TREMENDOUS PURPOSE! Sadly, so very few really grasp the awesome magnitude of what the LORD God is offering all mankind.

To help understand the LORD our God’s purpose for the creation of humanity, and what His Holy Spirit has to do with it, let’s go to the beginning – to the first chapter of the Book of Genesis.
1) What do the very first words of the Bible tell us about God?
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” – Genesis 1:1.

God – and the word here for “God” is Elohim, the family of God which consists at this present time of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ – is SUPREME RULER of the universe, HEAD of the GOVERNMENT OF GOD and over the finite universe (finite at this present time).

Our “LORD God” – YHWH Elohim is a compound term that is composed of two nouns. As in English, Hebrew nouns are divided into two categories: common nouns and proper nouns. Common nouns refer to a general group or class, but proper nouns refer to a particular person, place, or thing. According to Hebrew rules of grammar, YHWH – as a proper noun – can only be followed by a noun or a noun phrase that either qualifies YHWH or is in apposition to YHWH (i.e., a noun or a noun phrase that refers exclusively to YHWH). Therefore, when the proper noun YHWH is used with Elohim, as in LORD God, both nouns must be interpreted as referring to the Godhead. 1
2) What Scripture shows us that there are two in the Godhead at this present time?
“In the beginning was the Word [the Logos], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2) He was in the beginning with God” – John 1:1-2.

Again, this revelation from Jesus Christ may seem redundant to some, yet this is knowledge that so few in this world truly grasp. The Word was a personal being; and He was called “the Word.” Originally written in the Greek language, the word was Logos – which translates to Spokesman, or the One who speaks. So, this Word was with God.

God is another being. So now we have two beings. Because then Apostle John says, “and the Word was God.”

As I mentioned in the last study – one of the greatest of mysteries of which Almighty God speaks of is the TRUTH that the God family is in the process of expanding the God family and “plant[ing] the heavens” – Isaiah 45:18; 51:16. And you can become a member of that eternal, spirit-composed family!

Who did the Word later become!?

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” – John 1:14.

An important point to notice is that this shows us that our Lord Jesus Christ was God and that He actually became flesh – Scripture does not state that He remained fully God on Earth. It should probably be mentioned that those with a unitarian view believe this should be translated differently. Yet, that does not change the totality of God’s living word on this subject.

Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches, ’ I and My Father are one’ – John 10:30, which completely contradicts the unitarian position that Jesus is not now God (as well as does John 1:1-3, which is another issue unitarians dispute).

The apostle Matthew, who quoted Isaiah 7:14, makes it abundantly clear of His divinity –

’ Behold, the virgin shall be with Child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’ – Matthew 1:23.

Also, notice what occurred after Jesus Christ’s glorious resurrection –

“And Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29) Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’ – John 20:28-29.

The Apostle Paul also confirms this living truth –

“and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ – Ephesians 3:9.

Who is the other divine member of the God family?

“In Deuteronomy 6:4, the most accurate translation of the Hebrew is: “Hear, O Israel. Our one God [Elohim] is the LORD [YHWH], the LORD [YHWH]” – NET. This unique Hebrew clause is a verbless clause with split or double predicate nominatives. YHWH, YHWH (Lord, Lord). The subject is Elohim (God), Who is èhad, or “one.” However, Elohim is a plural noun designating more than one person. Thus, the double predicate nominatives, YHWH, YHWH (Lord, Lord), answer the implied question, “How many are in the plural noun Elohim [God]?” Thus, this passage reveals that there are two “Lords” within Elohim. The two individuals ─Lord, Lord ─in the God Family are “one” in essence or existence, as well as purpose. In the Greek Septuagint (LXX), the passage reads: “Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἷς ἐστι.” – Mark 12:29 is an exact quotation from the LXX, and most English versions traditionally translate the clause as “The Lord our God is one Lord.” … this clause in New Testament Greek is nearly identical to the underlying Hebrew of Deuteronomy 6:4 which has double predicates that are equative to God. An exegetical analysis of the Greek syntax of Mark 12:29 also shows two predicate nominatives, Kurios, Kurios (Lord, Lord), which are likewise equative to God.” 2

Notice 1 Corinthians 8:6 – “yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”

To Note: If you have a chance, be sure to read pages 1361, 1362, and 1363 of the Faithful Version with Commentary Second Edition of The Holy Bible In Its Original Order (NET) translated by Fred R. Coulter into clear, easy-to-read English for contemporary readers.
3) Whose image and likeness was man [the word being “`ādām,” meaning humankind] created!?
“Then God [Elohim; the family of God] said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; …” – Genesis 1:26.

According to the pattern and design of God, like produces like.

“DESIGN – throughout the whole of the universe, there’s design. From a snowflake to different mineral deposits. You look – the scientists tell you – at an atom, that you have a little nucleus, and flying around it like little satellites are electrons. But it’s the same thing you see when you look at the Earth! You see the Earth (the nucleus) and flying around it is a satellite. Well, you look at the entire solar system. You see the Sun (the nucleus) and surrounding it are these little satellites. The design is consistent throughout nature. It’s consistent because it had ONE DESIGNER! The Almighty God!” 3

The God family created mankind like Themselves – ‘according to Our image and according to Our likeness.’ Same form and shape. Truly, God’s revealed truth shows us that God’s purpose was to create mankind after the God kind!
4) Does the LORD God plainly show us that Their Master Plan is to increase the God family, bringing many children into it?
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” – Romans 8:29.

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. 10) For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, in bringing many sons [children] to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” – Hebrews 2:9-10.

“’ He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son’” – Revelation 21:7.

For He is “the firstborn among many brethren.” For He is already born of GOD by a resurrection from the dead – Romans 1:4. Indeed! As we shall be!

He is our Captain who has gone on ahead, preparing the way for us! – Hebrews 2:10.

God’s living word distinctly says, “And He is the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, …” – Colossians 1:18. See also Ephesians 4:15; 5:23.

What must happen to flesh and blood human beings BEFORE they can inherit the kingdom of God?

True faithful Christians will be raised to eternal life, resurrected to immortality at the SEVENTH TRUMP!

“And as we have borne the image of the man of dust [the word ”‘Ādām,” meaning a name], we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man [the Second Adam, Christ Jesus]. 50) Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood CANNOT inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51) Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed – 52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye [within a split second], AT THE LAST TRUMPET. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead [the dead in Christ] will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53) For this corruptible MUST put on incorruption, and this mortal MUST put on immortality.” – 1 Corinthians 15:49-53; see also 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17.

Notice our Lord Jesus Christ’s clear answer to Nicodemus –

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ 4) Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’

5) Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7) Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.’ 8) The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit’ – John 3:3-8.

This friends is the plain teaching of the LORD our God! So, this new birth is not defined as just an emotional experience as so many are erroneously assuming. It is a literal BIRTH!

When you are “born again” – meaning, born of the Holy Spirit of God, you will be “like Him [Jesus Christ], for we shall see Him as He is.” You will not be seen by mortal eyes (unless you choose to manifest yourself), and you will be able to move like the wind.

Truly, our Lord Jesus says we must be “born again” – changed into wholly spiritual beings – born of the Spirit of God as divine children in the God family!
5) What about true Christians!? Are we being fashioned and molded by God for a specific purpose!?
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10.

God provides all true Christians with the WILLPOWER, the FAITH OF CHRIST, and MOTIVATION to do His good pleasure. God the Father and Jesus Christ have gone to great lengths to provide the grace – the unmerited favor of Their divine mercy – to help Their begotten children to succeed in their calling. But They expect results!

Friends – how crystal clear God’s living word becomes when we let His word interpret itself! It is terribly sad that most professing Christians simply stop at this point and miss the very crux of the Apostle Paul’s statement.

“for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” – Philippians 2:13.

“’ Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.’” – Isaiah 43:7.

We – true Christians – are God’s workmanship. We – today – are being created “unto good works.”
6) WHEN will this spiritual birth of the true saints take place!?
Book of Acts, the 14th chapter –

Verse 22 – “strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.’” – we will need to endure and keep the faith as God’s begotten children go through the FIRST SIX TRUMPET BLASTS – cf. Revelation 8:7-12; 9:1-11, 13-19. But then the SEVENTH TRUMPET BLAST will be blown “and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” – cf. 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 10:7; Revelation 11:15. So, here the apostle Paul is saying that it will be through ‘many tribulations’ – and all of us can attest to this. Once you set your heart on obeying Almighty God’s Law, like keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, it becomes ever more difficult to swim upstream against this world.

Friends, when the SEVENTH TRUMPET IS SOUNDED, the Spirit-begotten children of God who have died through the ages will be resurrected to spirit life by the Spirit of God, and those still alive will be instantly changed into spirit beings – cf. Matthew 24:40-42. At that very moment, they will be “born again” members of the God family.
7) Does God’s living word plainly show that it is His Master Plan to increase His divine family by bringing many sons and daughters to glory!?
You know, in Romans 8 – you read through there – you hear phrases like, “sons of God,” and “the Spirit of sonship,” and “children of God.” You can go through Galatians 3 and hear, “children of God … heirs according to the promise.” There are many more such Scriptures – also Hebrews 2:9-11 – talking about Jesus Christ and saying, “bringing many son’s into glory.” And, 1 John 3:1-2 – the people of the world do not understand what you are about to read – but many of you reading this have heard it before, and you do understand it! I just hope that we always deeply appreciate it! “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2) Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He [shall appear], we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

We will be like the resurrected Jesus Christ!

Be sure to watch today our sermon “God's Master Plan - From the Beginning” which also speaks of this marvelous TRUTH OF GOD!


1) Coulter R. F., The Holy Bible In Its Original Order A New English Translation, Jehovah Elohim in Genesis 3:22, York Publishing Co., © 2009, pg. 1360.
2) Ibid. pg. 1364.
3) Garrett, M.C., The Confusion About Death! 2019, pgs. 13-14.

Scriptural Index:

Old Testament - Genesis 1:1, 26; 5:5; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 7:14; 43:7; 45:18; 51:16.
New Testament - Matthew 1:23; 24:40-42; Mark 12:29; John 1:1-2, 14; 3:3-8; 10:30; 20:28-29; Acts 14:22; Romans 1:4; 8:28; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 15:49-53; Ephesians 2:10; 3:9; 4:15; 5:23; Philippians 2:13; Colossians 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17; Hebrews 2:9-10, 11; 1 John 3:1-2; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 11-12, 21; 5:10; 8:7-12; 9:1-11, 13-19; 10:7; 11:15; 20:14-15; 21:7-8.

Monday, November 14, 2022

What do you mean... "beget"?


To beget means begetting – the action or process of generating or producing.

The Greek word gennaō means to become the father of; to bear, give birth to, to be conceived, born: - begat. PRODUCTION THROUGH A PROCESS that includes and is generated by the imparting of the fertilizing or life-giving element by the father.

In Greek, the word gennaō is an all-inclusive word – as a PRODUCTION PROCESS. Beget refers to the father. And the father’s action is to cause the beginning process towards eventual birth – cf. 1 Peter 1:23.

Scripture after Scripture, analogy after analogy, comparison after comparison, shows that BEING BORN OF GOD is a process in which there is a time element. Just as being born of the flesh is a process.

At the moment when the human father begets his estimated 40 to 150 million sperm and the mother receives ONE – a union of a sperm cell and egg – fertilization becomes an embryo.

But, it is not yet delivered from the womb – NOT YET BORN.

And, if we’re talking about a human being, it will not be for NINE MONTHS. Pregnancy is in progress. Yet, during this period of physical development and growth, it is an UNBORN CHILD of its parents.

IN LIKE MANNER – at the time when God’s Spirit enters a human being (Father God begets a human being with His Holy Spirit; the spiritual counterpart of a material sperm cell) – he or she becomes A BEGOTTEN CHILD OF GOD! The person is already a CHILD OF GOD!

But, the person is still human – still material, flesh, and blood. The person must now undergo a process (until death or the resurrection) of spiritual development and growth. He or she is still in the gestation state in the process of being born.

Now, the individual is a member of the living CHURCH OF GOD, but the Church is not the Kingdom of God. The Church is composed of physical human beings – of flesh and blood – begotten children of God.

And God’s living word is clear, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; …” – 1 Corinthians 15:50.

The LORD God’s kingdom is made up of spirit-composed beings.

But, the Spirit-begotten children of God are in the process of being born of God. But, they have yet to enter into the kingdom of God. Because they have yet to be born of God. God’s Spirit-begotten children have a lot of spiritual development and growth yet to do – acquiring the very spiritual character of the LORD God.

Certainly, during our converted human true Christian life, we are ALREADY children of God, yet unborn.

We have within us – through the gift of the Holy Spirit – the presence of eternal life, Spirit life, divine life. However, ONLY FROM AND THROUGH ALMIGHTY GOD!

We DO NOT have, yet, any eternal life inherent – of ourselves, independent from God! And, WE COULD BE ABORTED!

IN LIKE MANNER – the unborn physical fetus, in the gestation period. It has life, but only THROUGH the umbilical cord from the mother – not independent of itself. So, again, IT COULD BE ABORTED!

This is clearly brought out to us in God’s living word –

“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12) He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God DOES NOT HAVE LIFE” – 1 John 5:11-12.

So, eternal life IS NOT INHERENT WITHIN US! We do not now, in this life, have BORN life of our own – independent of Him.

In this sense, our contact with the Son of God through His Spirit is the umbilical cord through which we are partakers of eternal life from Him.

Now, a BORN human child has life on its own – independent of its mother.

THAT DEFINES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE STATE OF BEGETTAL AND A BORN STATE!

In this true Christian life, we are fed and protected by JESUS CHRIST – HE IS OUR UMBILICAL CORD! – cf. Ephesians 5:24-29. He nourishes the living Church of God.

When we are BORN AGAIN – of God – we shall have ETERNAL LIFE INHERENT – of our own! We are not now in that state. □

Additional things to think about ...

Are You Unequally Yoked?Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke of a certain type of people in Matthew 13:15 
Unity!?Something to think about...
A Roman "Mark"!?Back in Rome, in the times before our Lord Jesus Christ, the Roman government MARKED people by branding them on their hands and on their foreheads – like a tattoo.

Additional Items of Related Interest ...

A Morning Bible Study - What do you mean... Born Again?Born again. A profound truth, that even today, still completely mystifies many people.
What do you mean... 'Born Again'?“Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’ 
A Morning Bible Study - Is God's Spirit Within You?Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ tells us that we will know a true Christian by their fruits – Matthew 7:15-20; 12:33-35. Is God’s Spirit within you? Are you a Spirit-begotten child of our living God – and how can you tell!?