The Anointed Jesus?
 

Ok, here goes another: There is a teaching, very popular in certain circles that posits the understanding that while on Earth, Jesus did not function in any capacity as God, but simply as a man anointed by the Holy Ghost. The corollary is that we are now able to function in the same way. I am interested in your thoughts on this issue, being an Apostolic.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

As an Apostolic who doesn't believe Jesus is God but does believe Jesus is the Christ, I find that someone anointed someone else. You're slightly off with your statement that "simply a man anointed by the Holy Ghost". Scripture differs with that statement....

Act 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Jesus was anointed by God WITH the Holy Ghost. Jesus wasn't anointed BY the Holy Ghost.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

John 3:33-35

King James Version (KJV)

33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.


i think v34 is clear that christ had the spirit without measure and that we have a measure of the spirit. miracles are a work of the spirit operating in us and not something we can produce from effort. i do think that deepening our consciousness of the implications that the kingdom of god is present in the here and now can affect our measure of the spirit. by that i mean practicing justice to the poor and oppressed.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

The Bible states that the Word was God, and took on flesh. Jesus Christ was this Word. Thus Paul can say, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Maybe I'm am misunderstanding what you are saying but here it goes; if this was true then it does not change the fact that Jesus was/is God in the flesh and that He healed the sick, raised the dead and etc... but by His death, burial, and resurrection did He not function as God since ONLY God can bring salvation? As far as we being able to function in the same manner; didn't Jesus say "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."?

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Yes, I agree. His doctrine and his works were of the Father. Jesus was taught by the Father which means he learned and he grew in wisdom. When God (the one who is perfect in wisdom and knowledge) became human, He intentionally limited himself to be our kinsman redeemer, the perfect sacrifice for man's sins.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

(((ECHO)))

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

:chirp

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

I find it interesting to note that Jesus did no miracles, signs, or wonders until he was baptized by John the Baptist, and the Spirit of God descended like a dove upon him. Previous to that, there is no written record of any miracles performed by Jesus. And immediately after that took place, Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days fasting before we see Him performing His first miracle turning the water into wine.

I believe that Jesus is fully God and fully man. Yet, his miracles didn't start until he was baptized by John.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Yes, that is interesting.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

The bible states that the Word was with God. The bible states that the same was in the beginning with God. The bible states that Jesus and Mary shared the same God and Father. The bible also states that Jesus was one with His Father. The bible states that Jesus was the Son of His Father.

The bible states a bunch of stuff about Jesus and His, and Mary's, Father and God.

Ain't nothing like a Godhead discussion for the 3,251st time!! :thumbsup

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Maybe that's how the Lord revealed it to you so you could better understand His life while He walked on earth. (and relate it to us as His followers) Nobody can know what is in anybody's hearts but the Lord. So while He was on earth He also knew what was in people's hearts and knew who were His children and who wasn't.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

I John 1 also tells us that the "Word" was "the ETERNAL LIFE which was with the Father" and that this eternal life took shape before us.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Yep, someone was with someone else. Amen brother!!

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

I think this is a very dangerous teaching, similar to what you find in the Mormon church, and New Age type doctrines among others. It lifts up flesh to a level that is equal with God. It posits that man can become a god, even as Jesus did.

I have come into contact with various forms of this doctrine, and at its core it is Satanic. For Lucifer himself was the one who was cast out of heaven because he thought he could make himself equal with God. And ever since that time, he has been convincing humans to make that same error. He convinces those who will listen that you can be just as Jesus was, a little god, so to speak. It is a basic New Age doctrine that has been packaged many, many times into different doctrines through history.

According to the writers of the NT, believers are to reject any attempt of any doctrine to lift up and elevate a man to place equal with God/Jesus. Jesus was humanity and divine all wrapped up into one physical body that was transformed after Calvary into a spiritual body. His spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost, but he still remains in a spiritual body.

I have recently heard a doctrine that says that Jesus dispersed into his body on the Day of Pentecost, and that now each one of the believers (who believe this) that they in essence have become the body of Jesus Christ. And this group sings songs like "I see Christ in you, You see Christ in me, Praise the Lord", which basically is glorifying the Christ in each of the brethren and believing that Christ does not have a spiritual body anymore, but inhabits believers, who are the true body. This basically turns into worship of each other, because of the "Christ" that has dispersed into that body of the believer. Scary stuff!

The end result of this doctrine is that its followers believe they are above sin and that soon Christ is going to transform them, just as He was transformed after Calvary, and that they are going to be "Joel's Army" marching through the land doing great feats and exploits in the name of Jesus. Their basic belief is that since Christ no longer has a body, and has come to indwell believers, that we can rise up to do greater things than have ever seen before, greater works than any other time in history, and only those who believe this will be a part of this "Joel's Army"...

It is a very dangerous doctrine, because it places greater emphasis on human works, and efforts and lifts humanity up to a divine level.

Jesus said I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. There is none like me. All power in heaven and earth is given unto me.

Any doctrine that seeks to elevate flesh to a divine nature is Satanic and not of God. Jesus will not share His glory with another. No human, and no angelic being.... God will not share His glory, not even with any part of his creation, humans and angelic beings alike.

I John 4:1-2 "Beloved believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God, and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already it is in the world."

Again, any teaching that elevates flesh to the level of a divine nature, and/or denies the humanity/deity of Christ is the spirit of the ANTICHRIST and from which we are to flee.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

This teaching stresses the importance of reliance upon the Holy Spirit in all that we do. That is, just like Jesus relied on the Holy Spirit (John 5:19) for what to say and do, we should stive to live thatt way. So, where are the red flags?.

We are supposed to grow in Christ till we get to the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Son of God, right?

Eph 4
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Hello larrylyates,

I believe that, after the Incarnation, there existed a functional dichotomy in God. External to the context of his humanity, the one God continued to "function" as unlimited deity just as he always had. Internal to the context of his humanity, he functioned as a genuine human complete with all of its limitations, but that he was anointed of the Holy Ghost (Acts 10:38).

We are not able to function in the EXACT same way as Jesus, for the Spirit was poured out upon him without measure. But with the baptism of the Holy Ghost, we have power through his name Jesus.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Where do you get that from, especially since the Holy Ghost had not yet been given?

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

That is actually the opposite of what he said.

He said there are people that believed he did NOT function as God but simply as a man anointed by the Spirit.

The corollary is that we too can operate as men anointed by the Spirit to do the same works.

Joh 14:12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

You are apparently referring to John 3:34 which says in the KJV:"For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him."

The words "unto Him," are in italics in the KJV, indicating that they were added by the translator. This was most likely done because they could not accept the force of the actual Greek text, which literally says: "because He does not give the Spirit by measure."

The words "unto him" do not appear in any of the manuscripts we have available to us.

I leave you to draw your own conclusions from that. However, I do agree with you that with the Baptism of the Holy Ghost we have power through the Name of Jesus.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

No "red flags." Merely interested in what some of you believe the affect of the understanding of the Oneness of God, and the nature of Christ has on this particular doctrine.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

They were added to clarify to people who otherwise could not figure it out on their own.

The "because" connects that clause with the previous one

Joh 3:34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
Joh 3:35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.

Of this the NET bible says is an idiom

67 tn Grk "for not by measure does he give the Spirit" (an idiom). Leviticus Rabbah 15:2 states: "The Holy Spirit rested on the prophets by measure." Jesus is contrasted to this. The Spirit rests upon him without measure.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

"Not yet given", corresponds with Joel's prophesy of being "poured out on ALL flesh"

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Wow! How did you get ALL of THAT from what I asked? While I certainly agree that there is only one God and we ain't Him! And I agree that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega and that all power in heaven and in earth has been given unto Him. However, your last reference is borrowed from Matthew 28, which actually says:

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

The implication is that there was some kind of relationship between His power and the command to go. This is clear from the use of "therefore." He had earlier told them: "12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (John 14:12-14).

Very few in the Church today believe those verses. Just act like you believe them and see the backlash that comes against you!

He promised in Mark 16:17-20: "17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.


The key is in Acts 1:8--"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

This verse is closely related to Matthew 28. The power is intended to equip us to witness for Him in power and the manifestations of signs and wonders. In fact, anything less, is living far below our potential, hence the mess we see around us.

Romans 8:19
For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

The very creation is waiting for us to step up to the plate and be who we are meant to be.

Romans 15:19
Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

We have been anointed by the Holy Ghost in order to produce in us the ability to witness of Him with power. Anything less, according to Paul is not fully preaching the Gospel. In fact, the gospel preached in the absence of signs and wonders is not the Gospel of Christ; it is not the Gospel of the Kingdom.

The problem is two fold. for too many years the Church has been deceived into living beneath her true nature and ceased being a force for God in the world. We didn't understand who we are in Christ. Then, when a few brave souls began to step out in faith and live up to their potential they were immediately slapped down by a religious structure steeped in unbelief.

Unfortunately, that attitude exists even among Pentecostals today! We who should be at the forefront of the miraculous, have sold our birthright for a mess of pottage. We too have made the Word of God of no effect for the sake of our own religious traditions.

I find it sad that some of the greatest resistance I face in ministry is the attack against the message of healing that comes from Apostolic Pentecostals. Just read some of my other threads. It's an appalling state of affairs!

One thing concerns me. You said, "It posits that man can become a god, even as Jesus did." Perhaps I am misunderstanding you but it seems to imply that you somehow believe that Jesus "became a god." Please tell me I am misreading this or it is a typo!!

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Thanks, I will check that out later. i appreciate the reference.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Hello larrylyates,

What is the biblical prescription to see these things (the power of God) manifested? Prayer? Fasting? Thank you.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

This is perhaps the most significant question of all. It comes up quite frequently. There is no "magic formula" for instant success in this area. I have seen completely new babes in Christ experience incredible results and then others of us have had to struggle up river against the current. All of us are still learning about all of this.

The first thing to do is a basic assessment of our true spiritual condition. Fix things that need fixing. Stop things that need to be stopped, etc. In general, deepen our walk.

Beyond that it seems that we simply learn all we can from the scriptures about who we are In Christ. (I can send you those scriptures. just contact me at my email and I'll send you some info). I tell my students to read the Word. Faith does indeed come by hearing/reading the Word, IF coupled with faith. When I say faith however, I do not mean the mental assent found in most cases. I am speaking of obedient faith that seizes upon the truth and immediately acts on it. "Why do you call me Lord but do not DO what I say?"

Read the Word. Make it a constant diet. Read it slowly. Read every word. Then act like you believe it and as if it really means what it says.
Never again make excuses for failure or accept the lies of religious traditions that are baptized in unbelief.

Read the study "Sons of God Acting like Sons of God" at the following link: http://larrylyates.wordpress.com/201...e-sons-of-god/

There is much information to be found on our website as well. Take the first step! He will more than meet you half way. I look forward to hearing from you.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

EMMANUEL


Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
The virgin birth is foundational to Christianity. Few would argue that. For 20 centuries, man has written, and sang, about Emmanuel…a name that Jesus was never called; neither in his short life, nor in the epistles that followed.
Whether you believe in God or not, its hard to ignore, what Christ’s birth has become today. From childhood, you’ve celebrated Christmas once a year. From grade school, you’ve dated all assignments, with the years since his appearing. Our very calendar pivots upon this birth…an honor ascribed to no other event. For 40 centuries before Christ, the brutal winters of late December were never called, the most wonderful time of the year. But now, they are.
Certainly, the birth of every child, is a miracle in its own right. In that light, Christ’s birth, was no different from your birth. Same labor pains. Same bloody exit from the womb. Same umbilical cord, attached to a placenta. Indeed, the miracle was not so much his birth, but his conception. And what a miracle this is. From all time, 98% of humanity passed this way, never knowing the microscopic wonders of conception. But to us…to this final 2%...does this rose unfold her petals. It is knowledge too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. And though our science breach the mystery of this miracle; even we, cannot follow it to its nano-end.

Human pro-creation begins with two single cells. We’re in the hidden world here…of microns and angstroms…unseen by the naked eye. Each of these two cells have a nucleus…the heart and life of a cell. Inside each nucleus, are 23 chromosomes. Each chromosome has lots of genes.
When the single-celled male seed, penetrates the single-celled female seed, he sheds his propulsion tail and fuel tank. The two nuclei of the two cells, then fuse together, becoming a single cell. This new cell has one nucleus with 46 chromosomes…23 from him, and 23 from her.
At this moment of fusion, a new life has begun. This is how you and I started. This is how the word was made flesh and dwelt among us started. This is how Emmanuel started. That one original cell is called a zygote. It begins dividing in half, making exact copies of itself. The one fertilized cell splits into two identical cells. The two then become four. Four become eight, then 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1,024, etc… After about 6 days of bounding down the fallopian tube, the zygote at last attaches itself to the uterus wall. Here, its name is changed to a blastocyst.Rapid cell division continues from embryo, to fetus, to birth, and beyond. A fully grown human is roughly 300 trillion (300,000,000,000,000) exact copies of that original zygote.

The bible suggests that Mary enjoyed a normal nine month pregnancy. Aside from the microscopic conception, God chose to bring about the birth of His only begotten son through normal channels. A nine month gestation, a bloody birth, suckling at mothers breasts, circumcision, poopy diapers, and growth to adulthood. So says the Spirit:

In all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren.
During a normal ovulation cycle, Mary donated a single cell to this miracle. Some have argued that Mary’s gene pool was entirely too infected to be used by God to birth his son. Still others hold a phobic position, that the genetic pool of all humanity is so rife with physical defect, that it affects every child ever born. By extension, Mary’s seed could not be used.
Okay, hereditary disease and defect have been around since the garden, when sin entered into the world. But look around you. Even today, here at the ragged end of time and humanity, the overall percentage of such cases is small. As always, most humans are born healthy…a testament itself, to the resilience of God’s original design.

Common sense aside, to not use Mary’s seed would alter the spirit of scripture. If Mary’s seed wasn’t used, then God spoke the whole package into her womb. A male and a female cell…already fused into a single-celled zygote…was placed into the oven. This reduces Mary’s role to a warm womb. In such a case, Mary never really conceived in her womb. Instead, a transplant of sorts took place. A pre-fertilized egg was placed in a warm womb. This is at polar odds with the scriptures, which say:

Thou shalt conceive in thy womb. And again to the angel: how shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Of course, God can do anything. He could have formed Jesus from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. He could have presented his son on a white flying horse, wearing a golden crown. He could have spoken a completely fertilized zygote into the womb of Mary. But, lucky for us, there is one thing our God cannot do. He cannot lie. And He had promised to defeat our enemy through the seed of a woman. Though God created many sons, Emmanuel would be His first, His only, begotten son. God didn’t short circuit the process of pro-creation. He embraced it. He created it. And He chose to fully participate in the way of man; from conception on day one, until death some 33 years later. He subjected himself to the very laws he created. Laws of physics and science. Laws of biology and chemistry. The very process of pro-creation. As it is written, wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren.
This phobia of a contaminated gene pool, rests upon a false premise. In the brilliant design of God, it is not the gene pool which must be pristine, but the blood flowing through ones veins. Sinless blood disallows genetic mutation. The bible and creation, teach that the life of the flesh is in the blood. To be honest, understanding blood is essential to understanding life itself.
In Eden, there was no such thing as sin and death. It was an age of innocence. Sin was a later invader; death riding in on his coattails. But when Adam was formed, and Eve made, there was no trace of death…no stench of sin. They danced naked in the garden. They spoke with the animal kingdom. They spoke with God, in the cool of the evening.
If then, the scriptures cannot be broken, and the life of the flesh is in the blood, then what coursed through Adam’s veins was life eternal. For whether mortal or eternal, the life of the flesh is in the blood. Adam and Eve were not the products of pro-creation, as the rest of us. What coursed through their veins was the original, untainted recipe…pure blood…sinless blood.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Emmanuel- part 2

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When sin entered into the world, animals became vicious, carnivorous, and fiercely territorial. Trees were felled by parasites. Big fish began eating little fish. Plants withered and died. Disease and death blanketed the lifescape. Sin subdued the whole of creation…from the microscopic to the galactic. But Emmanuel would show us that the greatest damage, was to the life serum…the blood…that filled the arteries of Adam and Eve. Life eternal no longer flowed there. Now there was shame for dancing naked in the garden. Now, the animals don’t like us anymore. Now, the voice of our God, has grown silent. A catastrophic change had taken place in their blood. What now pumped through 90,000 miles of arteries and veins, was something far less…a severe dilution of the original recipe. It included a process of aging and degradation, a slow devolution of disease, sickness and pain…and in the end, death. The chemical blood supply, for all of humanity, became infected here, at its very source. Laws of chemistry, biology, and pro-creation, ensured that not only Adam and Eve, but all who would issue from their loins, would carry this blood infection. The virus has survived for 6,000 years…and remains uncured, and undetected. Infected blood, disease, sickness, aging and death are normal to us. It’s all we know. This is the law of sin. This is the same law at work in apostle Paul’s members 4,000 years after Adam, and at work in us today. Medical science has yet to locate it. But the child born in Bethlehem gives us our best clue.
This final generation now knows that every baby produces his own blood supply. As the fetus grows in the womb, none of the mother’s blood is allowed to pass through a cellular-thin membrane, and mingle with baby’s blood. Were pro-creation not so designed, then our Lord’s blood would have been contaminated by his mother’s, and his atonement of none effect. Where we pick up this infection, is from our father’s seed. Not only does the father’s seed…that single, microscopic cell… initiate baby’s independent blood production, but it is also the carrier of this age-old law of sin and death. It affects baby’s blood factory at its very root. Baby never had a chance…being infected in the zygote stage; before blood production ever got off the ground. This is why biblical bloodlines are traced through the male, and why all are born with this law of sin and death flowing in their veins. And so, in Adam, all are sentenced to die.
I’m certain that Mary was a very godly woman, and a chaste virgin. But our goodness or badness isn’t the point here. The point is that Mary was human. And if human…if drawn from the wells of Adam and Eve… if born from the union of her mother and father, then she was not exempt from this horrible blood infection…the law of sin and death. These are God’s laws of pro-creation…only lately confirmed by medical science. The good news is: the same laws that condemned Mary to die one day, forbade her infected blood from mingling with her unborn child’s. Her son, like all babies, produced his own blood supply. But the microscopic seed of his Father was free from the infection common to every other father’s seed. Hence, the son of Mary, within the laws of pro-creation, produced the only 13 pints of sinless human blood, in God’s entire universe. The life of the flesh is in the blood…and this one human amongst all of humanity, had sinless blood…and eternal life…flowing in His veins.
More wonderful yet, is what the mysterious union of a human and a divine seed produced. When Mary donated a single cell to this miracle, it included 23 microscopic chromosomes that held her DNA fingerprint. As she and her extended family sat beholding the face of her 7 year old son, they could no doubt see Mary’s chin, or her high cheekbones, or her hair color…or whatever other traits that her son inherited from her. But they could also see something else in that face…something majestic…something that didn’t come from Mary’s genes. Not physical traits alone: but personality, temperament, emotions, intelligence…and every other trait that a father passes on to his son.
As Mary’s seed left the ovary bank, it encountered this miracle seed…a single cell nearly 100 times smaller than her egg. We may never know if the male cell materialized inside the ova…causing instant fertilization…or outside the ova, requiring that it penetrate the shell to fertilize the egg. Either way, God’s intervention was limited to that one cell…a single microscopic seed. It was inserted at the beginning of a nine month biological process, allowed to run its full course. God chose to confine this miracle within the very laws of science, and the very laws of pro-creation, that He had Himself designed. How praiseworthy is such an incredible miracle! It is something entirely too wonderful to comprehend. Before Him lay an entire creation: plant and animal kingdoms, humankind, stars without number, a universe without end; all groaning for deliverance from the ubiquitous law of sin and death. But rather than a galactic-sized event…in keeping with the galactic size of the problem…God instead chose a microscopic seed…a single cell…to bring about that universal deliverance. A single cell, in whose nucleus dwelt 23 chromosomes…each comprised of some 31,185 genes…made up of billions of base pairs of DNA. A tiny seed, made to obey all of the complex laws of creation previously set in motion. I find new meaning in the words of the prophet: for who hath despised the day of small things. Because of this miracle male seed, the very metabolism of Jesus…the 300 trillion single cells that walked the shores of Galilee…was in the purest sense, the son of God. A human seed had merged with a divine seed on a microscopic level…making 300 trillion exact copies of that original, never repeated fusion. Yet in all of this, the complex biology of conception and birth were never compromised. God chose to strictly follow the process of normal development.
And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. His intervention was at the seed level. His participation then, includes all stages of flesh development: from zygote to blastocyst to embryo to fetus to birth to childhood to adult. Every fiber of the Master…His physical body, His personality, His emotions, His temperament, His intelligence, and everything that defines us as human…bore the genetic fingerprint of His Father, by virtue of that one, original cell. Body, soul, and spirit; Jesus was as uncompromisingly human as you and I. The beautiful exception was His blood. The latent law of sin which mires the gene pool of all humanity, was not present in the divine gene pool. And so the biology was strictly followed, yet the infection not passed. The life of the flesh is in the blood…and truly in Jesus, that life was eternal. The Word was made flesh…in the same manner that all male seeds are made flesh…a nine month journey from zygote to birth.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

What is your point? Short and simple please

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Just responding to Dr. Yates original post.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

This was the original quote. I highlighted the part that concerned about about this "teaching" that Dr. Yates wanted to discuss and I'll quote "Jesus did not function in any capacity as God".

My response to this part of the "teaching" he wanted to discuss:
I am sorry that I did not complete my sentence correctly in the above. Many religions, such as Mormonism, and New Age type doctrines believe that Jesus was not GOD, but simply a god annointed for a special purpose by God, and believe that all men can likewise do the same. When I first read Dr. Yates' statement about this teaching, that is what stuck out to me was this statement "Jesus did not function in any capacity as God, but simply as a man anointed by the Holy Ghost". This kind of doctrine is not far away from lifting man up to a level close or equal to Christ, and THAT doctrine is what I was addressing.

I do believe that we can be anointed with the same spirit that Christ had, in a measure, but Christ had the full measure of the spirit, because HE WAS GOD.

I still think this doctrine or teaching is dangerous, because Jesus was God, and was not just a man anointed by the Spirit. Jesus was God, for if He wasn't then how could HE have been our perfect sinless Saviour?

Sorry, a mistype on my part led to this misunderstanding. You and I both AGREE on this point! There is only ONE God, Jesus is His Name.

I agree with you wholeheartedly here too.

We are on the "same page" with this Bro. I am sorry for the mistype in my post above. Please forgive me. But, we are acquainted with a group of people who whole heartedly espouse the doctrine I described above, being that "Jesus dispersed into his body, and that we now have the same anointing and power in us as Jesus did, and making us equal to Jesus"... that is where I see the terrible danger of believing that Jesus was just a man anointed by God, and not God himself. It is a fallacy that the apostles were dealing with even in their NT writings.

Yes, it is a very sad state of affairs. Persecution has always been greatest within the church, not from without. For it was the "church" of the day who crucified Jesus, and it is the "church" of today who are still crucifying those who would dare to walk and live as Jesus did.

I mistyped... so sorry for the misunderstanding. :highfive

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Other than Seekerman I did not see ANYONE say Jesus was just a man...I do believe you have misunderstood the topic

He didn't say "Jesus wasn't God"

He said the teaching is Jesus did not FUNCTION in that capacity. Big difference

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

I've never said nor suggested that Jesus was "just a man".

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Gotcha! No problem, my fingers mistype all the time. Thanks for taking time to clear that up.:thumbsup

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

So you believe Jesus was also God? Also an angel? What else was Jesus if not just a man?

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

I've been very open on who I believe Jesus was. He was a unique, one-of-a-kind, type of angelic being, the bright and morning star.

No, Jesus isn't God, He's the Son of God. The Christ. The Lamb of God.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

GOD IN CHRIST

To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.


Chapter one was about Emmanuel…God with us. Chapter two is about God in Christ. The two are very different. God with us is a nine month biological wonder. A human seed, fusing with a divine seed. Emmanuel, is the 300 trillion copies of that fusion, walking the shores of Galilee. Emmanuel, is the Word made flesh, and walking among us.
But God with us is not the same as God in Christ. God in Christ, does not begin in Bethlehem. Indeed, the term Christ itself suffices. Christ is a term of ministry and office. This robe was not yet donned by our Lord…neither at Bethlehem, nor for his first 30 years. Even beyond common sense, if God in Christ began in Bethlehem, then a very rich and beautiful hermeneutic of scripture is violated.
Consider, that the Mighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, wanted his chosen people to build him a tent. Not just any tent, but a very detailed tent. A tent of micro-managed design and specification. In fact when complete, it must match a heavenly tent, showed to Moses in the mount. Why a tent? Heaven is his throne, and the earth his footstool. Why does the Father of eternity, desire that a tent be built? Simply this: that I may dwell among them. That I may tabernacle with them. That I may walk with them…talk with them…and lead them into a promised land. So Israel built this elaborate tent. But for all the smithy’s and their hearths…the weavers and their fabrics…the woodsmen and their axes…the handling of materials and labor that went on…exactly when, did the Mighty God take up residence in his tent? At the beginning? At the dyers vats, or the cutters mill? When it was dried-in? No…he would tarry until its inauguration. It must be complete…down to the last knop and flower.
This storied tent, built by nomadic Israel, grew to regal proportions in the days of King Solomon. A massive temple, where once stood a mobile tent. A structure for which Solomon spared no expense. Cedar and gold, silver and marble, linens and spices. Hundreds of thousands of man hours spent in its erection. But again, when did the Mighty God occupy this beautiful temple? When the cornerstone was laid? When the cedar was overlaid with gold, or the silver sockets cast? When the walls went up? Again, God would tarry until its completion. That grand ceremony; records Solomon’s magnificent prayer, his elaborate sacrifices in a single day, and the arrival of God, in his temple.
And yet a third time, the Spirit testifies: sacrifice and offering thou woulds’t not, but a body hast thou prepared me. And yet a third time, God’s arrival would tarry, until the temple is completed. And as with the temples before, preparation must be made for his arrival. He would tarry until: the way of the lord be prepared; every valley filled, every mountain and hill brought low, the crooked made straight, and the rough ways made smooth. His residency in this temple, must wait for the preparer of the way, to prepare the way: this is he, of whom it is written, behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare the way before thee. And Malachi was bolder still, saying: Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple.
The Mighty God’s only, first begotten son, had been born of a virgin. The Word made flesh…on a microscopic cell level…developed for nine months, and then grew and matured for 30 years. It is a medical mystery never to be solved...the flesh and bone results, of a human seed fusing with a divine seed. How blessed the few, who got to see this miracle. Those who: have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life. But God with us…an unspeakable marvel in its own right…is not to be confused with God in Christ. God in Christ stands alone…a distinct event, with a specific starting point.
Like all fathers, God’s intervention must be stayed during temple construction. His son must be tested and tempted…during the prime years of a young mans life…in all points like as we. He must experience the fears and the joys…the pain and the love…that all men feel in life. And so the Father of eternity, looks on at his only begotten son…nursing at his mothers paps…crying at his circumcision…marveling as a lad, at his Fathers beautiful handiwork, in the gardens and forests of Palestine. A hushed heaven, beholding a Fathers great restraint.
John the Baptist, having finished his ministry of preparation, arrives at the pinnacle of his calling. He meets the word made flesh at the Jordan River. Jesus’ preparation is now complete. The fullness of time has come. The finished temple is perfect in every way: tried and tested, holy and sinless. Actually, his 30 years of preparation, are a closed book to us. We know the zeal of his father’s house was eating him up. We know that, of a long time, he desired to be about his father’s business. Short of this, we really know nothing at all about his first 30 years. A full 90% of our lords life…obscured by the Holy Ghost.
On the banks of the muddy Jordan, Jesus is now ready to don the mantle of Christ. Temple construction is complete, down to the tongs and snuffdishes. The Father is well pleased. Only one thing remains, to fulfill all righteousness. And so, the preparer of the way, baptizes Jesus. As He rises from that watery grave, Jesus is filled with the Holy Ghost. It is at this moment, that bold Malachi’s prophecy comes true: and the lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple. This is the start, of God in Christ. What now walks in Jesus’ sandaled feet…heals with his carpenter hands…weeps with eyes of compassion…is no less than: God in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. Here is the inauguration, of Moses tent in the wilderness. Here is God’s arrival, at Solomon’s temple feast. Now is God manifest in the flesh. Not at Bethlehem, but 30 years later at Jordan. Now does the fullness of the Godhead dwell in him bodily. The restrained father, is no longer with his son…but in him. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
To separate God with us from God in Christ by 30 years, does not minimize the miracle, that God has fathered His only begotten son. What part of this marvelous gospel is less marvelous, that God would tarry 30 years, before taking up residence? How does His tarrying…until the temple is complete…alter the miracle of Emmanuel? It does not. How else might He be made in all points like as we, yet save creation with the only sinless blood ever produced? How else might He establish His royal lineage from David, and yet take on the form of a servant? His tarrying had nothing to do with the Word made flesh, and dwelling among us. But this is a different mystery than God in Christ. This is a mystery of divine fertilization. Emmanuel…God with us…had a beginning, nine months before Bethlehem. He endured an ongoing process of growth, development, and maturing. He had a starting point, and 33 years later, a tragic ending. But during that time of the Word made flesh…30 years into his short life…God in Christ occurs. And when the lord suddenly comes to this prepared temple, we embark upon the whole purpose of Bethlehem…reconciliation.
And what of the temple Himself? What of the 30 year old man Jesus?
Here is the most beautiful irony of the gospel story. The crowning trait, of the most famous man in human history, is in fact, His anonymity. The Son of God that nobody knows. This too, is the single trait, that He hopes his followers might achieve. It is the greatest…albeit most difficult… achievement, that any apostolic life can pursue. That is, simply, to die…to lose our life. For anonymity is the very meat of maturity. Such was the testimony of our brother Paul:
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
And in another place:
I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
Here is that elusive, pinnacle achievement sought by every apostolic who loves Him. To die daily…to remain crucified with Christ…to lose our life, that we may find it. And where do we think the apostle learned so radical a theology? At the feet of Gamaliel? I think not. After all, the way of death, and the way of all humanity, are polar opposites. The scripture testifies, that Paul learned this way of death, from the example set by his Lord. Jesus showed Paul…Jesus showed all men…this new concept of dying daily. Jesus lived it, long before Paul adopted the practice. For I dare say, that the Master practiced what He preached. And fully two years, before the world knew how He would die, Jesus did preach:
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
From His inauguration at Jordan, until His cruel death at Calvary, my Lord lived a crucified life. Every day of His short ministry, Jesus willingly crawled up on that cross, dying to Himself. Had He not, we should all be the poorer; hearing only the words of the Son of God, rather than the words of God in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. This, Paul understood better than most. He saw that the successful reconciliation, of humanity to God, would require the Son of God to hide His own life in His Father.
For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
For His first 30 years on earth, Jesus’ life was obscured by the Holy Ghost. Then came Jordan. Here, He willingly died and was buried. Here, He begins a 3 ½ year regimen, of dying on a cross every day. What of Jesus? His life was truly and completely, hidden in God. So hidden, that even today, no man can possibly know who the Son is. And wasn’t that His very testimony?
All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the son, and he to whom the son will reveal him.
This is, in fact, the manifest beauty of the Son of God. For in that He gave His life; He gave it first at Jordan…and then ultimately, at Calvary. No man knoweth who the Son is, including us…simply because no man has ever seen him. We have a record of His birth, a visit to the temple at 12, His brief encounter with John at 30, and His prayers to His Father. We all take our lives with us, as we leave the burial waters of baptism. Then we embark on a gradual, life-long process, of allowing the Holy Ghost to crucify us. But not so with my Lord. In one fell swoop at Jordan…He laid down His life in the burial waters of baptism, for you and for me. When He was buried by John, that was the last the world would ever see of the man Jesus. His 30 years of preparation are complete. The temple is ready. The fullness of time had come. From this day forward:
The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
In the form of Noah’s dove, the Lord, whom ye seek, has suddenly come to his temple. After 2,000 years of wander, the dove has at last found a suitable place, to rest the soles of its feet. This is God in Christ. No man knoweth who the son is, but the Father.

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

Was he both man and angel? Was he human at all?

Re: The Anointed Jesus?
 

:highfive