Once saved, always saved is at the very heart of Christianity

by Matthew

The doctrine of eternal security is at the very heart of the Christian faith. Once you take away the doctrine of Once saved, always saved, you cease to believe in Christianity and you believe something else.

The doctrine of eternal security has its foundations in those doctrines that are central to the Christian faith:

The Incarnation

In Christ, humanity and deity are joined together in perfect union. Those who are in Christ are united to the Godhead. Humanity is joined to deity and men and women can live the divine life, eternal life, enjoying the eternal existence of God.

The Substitutionary death of our Lord

The death of Christ frees the believer from death. Eternal redemption has been secured through the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Resurrection of our Lord

The believer is justified in the risen Christ. She is dead and risen with Him. Just as Christ can never die again, the believer can never perish.

The Ascension of our Lord

The Lord Jesus has ascended into heaven where He is our representative. Through their union with Him, the believers' place and privilege is in heaven. That is where the believer eternally belongs.

The New Birth

The believer is beome a child of God. Just as a child can never cease to be the son or daughter of her parents, the believer can never cease to be a child of God.

The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

The believer is indwellt with the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures say nothing about the Holy Spirit ceasing to indwell a Christian.

The Church

The believer is brough into the church which is the body of Christ. That body is an indivisible union, not a voluntary association.

The discipline and judgment of the believer

Though it be a fearful thing, the Father's discipline and chastening of believers reveals His fatherly care and ownership of the child of God.

The Resurrection and Glorification of the Elect

Those who are called and justified are to be raised from the dead and glorified. "We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed." "So shall we ever be with the Lord."

The New Heavens and the New Earth

The regeneration of the believer is a type and foretaste of the renewal of the cosmos. Just as the restoration of creation is a certain fact, so is the believer;s eternal security.

Thou hast made him a little lower than the gods

by Matthew

Many people may be surpised to know that the word elohim is used in Psalm 8 to refer to angels. A lot of Christians do not realise that there are such things as gods.

This is why Christians who try to argue that the Jehovah's Witnesses' rendering of John 1:1 is objectionable on theological grounds will hit a brick wall:

Christian: How can the Word be a God when there is only one God.

J.W: Ah, but the Bible refers in several places to plural gods.

It has been my contention in a number of posts that the Bible teaches a qualified polytheism. There is only one creator. There is only one all-powerful God who dwells from everlasting to everlasting. However, there are beings that are called gods in the Bible.













I believe that God has created powerful beings called angels or gods. They have been given authority and dominion over the cosmos. Some of them exercise godly rule, while others cause chaos and promote wickedness and engage in spiritual warfare against the Kingdom of Yahweh.

As we are told in Psalm 8, mankind was created a little lower than the gods. Mankind was given charge over the earth, but the gods exercise heavenly rule.

Yet Psalm 8 reveals that it is God's purpose to put all of His works under the control of humanity. This has begun in Christ.

The risen Christ has ascended in heaven and has been given all authority and power over heaven and earth. He is the head of a new heavenly humanity, a celestial aristocracy. Those who are in Him and brought into a new divine relation. Through Christ their humanity is joined to divinity and they share in the very life of God.

The service of the Christian in the present age is meant to determine His ultimate status in the coming kingdom. If we are faithful and ready to suffer with Christ, we shall have a part in ruling over heaven and earth with our Saviour.

Though human beings are lower than the gods, we are to be given the same authority that they have. We are to replace the fallen angelic hierarchy, the principalities and powers. Thus, it is not incorrect to say that the goal of the Christian is to become a god. The glorified Christian is an heavenly being and in her the true likeness of God is realised.

A Sermon on Exodus 25:17-22

by Matthew

I preached this today.

Exodus 25:17-22

17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

18 And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.

19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubim on the two ends thereof.

20 And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.

21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.

22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.


When we think of Exodus, we tend to think of the story of Moses leading the people of Israel out of Egypt. This story is certainly one of the highlights of the Bible. However, unfortunately it means that we often forget some of the later chapters on Exodus. These give meticulous details about the tabernacle and how it should be furnished.

You might wonder what is so important about all these details. The reason is that the tabernacle was to be the most holy place on planet earth. The very presence of God was to be manifested in the tabernacle.

The things of the tabernacle were to be patterned after the things of heaven. I did some missionary work in Japan. While I was there, I visited an Anglican church. It looked exactly like an Anglican church in England, except that you had to take your shoes off when you went in. This church in Japan had been modelled on an English church. Likewise, the tabernacle on earth was to be modelled after the much greater temple that was in heaven. Did you know that God has a temple in heaven? At the edge of the universe there is that place where God's presence is manifested in a way unknown anywhere else in the cosmos.

Not only was the tabernacle modelled after the temple in heaven in its appearance, but if we look carefully at the details of its furnishings, we can find hidden references to some of the deeper spiritual truths of Scripture. I cannot go through all of these today, but I would like to talk about the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant. By the way, if you want to explore some of the symbols and types of Exodus, I highly recommend reading AW Pink's commentary, Gleanings in Exodus. I do not agree with everything he says, but it is a very thorough commentary.

Most people know the Ark of the Covenant from the Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark. I saw it when I was a four years old and was terrified by the bit at the end where the baddies melt after the ark is openned. It made me cry. Defintely too scary for a four-year old.

What is the Mercy Seat? If you are from a Salvation Army background like my mother here, you will know all about mercy seats, they have one in all their citadels. They are based on the idea we find in Exodus 25. Nobody knows exactly what it looked like, but it was placed on top of the Ark of the Covenant. It was not a seat in which anybody was allowed to sit, not even the high priest. It was Yahweh’s own throne. Just as God had His throne in heaven, He also had His throne on earth in the Tabernacle.

God entered into human history. He had condescended to man and entered into a relationship with the people of Israel. A relationship of government, but also a relationship of grace.

The nation of Israel was made the special object of God’s protection and blessing. God had chosen them to be the centre of His workings on earth. And some of us believe that at in their restoration after Christ’s return they shall be restord to blessing and privilege. However, they were a nation under law. Inside the Ark of the Covenant was placed the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments. The Mercy Seat was placed over them. Thus, law was the principle of God’s rule over Israel. When they were faithful they knew of God’s protection, but when they neglected the law they had been given, they were disciplined and fell prey to their enemies. In Deutoronomy, the last book of Moses we have a list of blessings that Israel would enjoy if she kept the law and a list of curses that would fall on them if they neglected it. And neglect it they did, with the result that they were scattered amongst the nations.

The Mercy Seat was made of pure gold. This reflected the purity of God’s holiness. God is utterly pure and righteous. He can have nothing to do with that which is defiled. That ought to be a sobering thought to us. Yet Christ was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ. Thus in Him we are also made holy.

The Mercy Seat was decorated by images of Cherubim. What are Cherubim? They are heavenly beings. Ezekiel and the book of Revelation describe them as having the characteristics of a man, an ox, a lion and an eagle. Whether the Cherubim on the Mercy Seat looked like that, we do not know. A lot of the artistic depictions of the Ark show them as the more human-like conventional winged angels.

The Cherubim represent God’s judicial dealings towards mankind. They represent God’s government.











The visions of Ezekiel and the apostle John both included Cherubim. Both these men prophesied of God’s judgment.






When our ancestors, Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, God sent Cherubim to guard Eden. They were a sign that judgment had been exercised.

Just imagine in the Victorian era, a ragged child gazing into the windows of a toyshop, looking at all the wonderful toys inside. And imagine that child being pushed away by a burly doorman saying “These ent for the likes of you, son. These are for the nice children.” That must have been how Adam and Eve felt as they gazed at the home they had lost in Eden, forever barred by those Cherubim. Yet they had brought that loss upon themselves by disobeying God.

Thus, there were Cherubim on the Mercy Seat in the most Holy of Holies. They were there as a sign that Israel was subject to God’s government. Their sins had to be dealt with.

Therefore only one person could go into that place to intercede for them, the high priest. Once a year on the Day of Atonement. An animal had to be sacrificed before he could do so. Blood needed to be shed first. Without shedding of blood is no remission for sins. Thus, after having made sacrifice for the people, the high priest would come before the Mercy Seat as a representative of the people so that their sins could be pardoned.

The entrance of the high priest to the holy of holies was a type or a shadow of Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ suffered death as a sacrifice for our sins. The blood of animals could never free anyone from sin. Yet Christ permanently dealt with the problem of sin by His death. He gave Himself for sinners.

After He rose from the dead, Christ ascended into heaven, into that heavenly tabernacle. He is present there as our great High Priest. He is there in heaven as our representative.

Just as there were Cherubim in the tabernacle on the Mercy Seat, there are real live Cherubim in heaven.

Adam and Eve were shut out of the Garden of Eden by Cherubim. Now there is a man, a human being, who dwells amongst the Cherubim. The apostle John saw Christ in heaven in the midst of the Cherubim and the angels.

In Christ, redeemed humanity is lifted up to the heights of heaven. In Christ, the believer is given access to God and given the right to enter into heaven. Through Christ redeemed humanity is united to God.

Maybe you are here today and you are not a Christian. Maybe you have no fellowship with God. To you God is a remote figure. You can be reconciled to God through Christ. Through Christ you can enter fellowship with God. You can receive the very life of God, eternal life through Jesus Christ. If you will believe on the Lord Jesus you shall be saved forever. I would urge you to turn to the Lord Jesus.

That Christ has entered into heaven means that we can have confidence in our prayers. As the high priest, Christ is our representative. By entering the heavenly sanctuary, He has obtained for us the right to bring our prayers to God. So we can ask anything of our heavenly Father in the name of His Son Jesus Christ. We can have confidence that our prayers will be heard in heaven.









In the old Tabernacle, the high priest of Israel never got to sit down in the mercy seat. It was the throne of Yahweh. However, Christ, our high priest is sat down in the throne of His Father. Christ has been given all authority in heaven and earth. He has not yet exercised that authority, for not all things are yet put under Him. However, when He comes in glory He shall rule over all creation.

















But the Lord Jesus Christ shall not rule alone. He shall reign with His saints. The apostle Paul said “If we suffer with Him, we shall reign with Him.” Those who are in Christ have the opportunity to share in ruling over the universe with Christ. The Lord is establishing a new heavenly humanity in His Church who will be Lords over the universe. A kind of celestial aristocracy.

The Cherubim were a sign of God’s judgment over mankind. However, as Paul says, “Do ye not know that we shall judge angels.” In the coming kingdom, the saints are going to be in charge of the angels.

Knowing this is very important to us. How are we to conduct our affairs knowing that we shall judge angels? Now is the time to prove that we are ready for this responsibility. How can Christ put us in charge of His Father’s business when we are neglectful of our daily obedience? If we would reign with Christ, we must be attentive daily to our calling to serve the Lord.

Yet through the Holy Spirit, we have the power to overcome and to win that crown. Let us therefore look to our Saviour in His heavenly sanctuary and be diligent in His service.

This is a Cult: Angels as elemental nature spirits

This is a Cult: Angels as elemental nature spirits

God at War, by Gregory Boyd (part 5)

by Matthew


I mentioned in a previous post about an elderly gentleman at my church who objected to the song line 'Among the gods there is none like you' as heretical without realising that this was a quotation from the Psalms! A lot of Christians do not realise that the Bible does refer to 'gods' who seem to be real beings. These gods are the subject of chapter four of God at War. The thesis of this chapter is that the Old Testament presents Yahweh as engaged in a war against disobedient and rebellous heavenly beings. While this is a genuine struggle, it does not compromise Yahweh's sovereign supremacy over all.

Boyd begins by affirming that the Hebrews believed that, contrary to their neighbours, there was only one creator God. However, they did not deny the existence of lesser spiritual beings of great power, who have come to be known as angels. Controversially, Boyd argues that these beings were referred to on occasions as gods in biblical literature. Boyd argues that some texts present Yahweh as being surrounded by an heavenly council of gods (Jer 23:18, 22. Is 6:2-8). Furthermore, Boyd cites many references in the Psalms to plural gods. He writes:

In any case, the remainder of the Old Testament exhibits no reservation in acknowledging the existence of gods outside Yahweh and of the gods who form his heavenly council. But even here Yahweh's supremacy is at the forefront of their thoughts. Hence he first commandment reads, "You shall have no other gods before me" (Ex 20:3). The existence of other gods is presupposed, but they are are subordinate to the one who alone is the Lord God Almighty.

Boyd points out that this notion can also be found in the writings of Paul. He wrote that there are "many God's and many Lord's" (1 Cor 8:4), though there is only one Lord Jesus Christ(verse 6).

Boyd refers to Judges 11 and Jephath's discourse with the Ammonite king. He argues that this discourse presupposes the existence of the god Chemosh. He also argues this is the case in 2 Kings 3:26-27. Boyd draws out the implications of this idea:

The power of gods to assist or resist Yahweh in war, to hinder his answers to prayers, to inluence "natural" disasters, to inlict diseases on people, to deceive people and the like is assumed throughout the Bible. Yahweh is unquestionably understood to reign supreme over the whole cosmic society of spiritual and earthly beings, but this sovereingnty is never- even in Isaiah and Jeremiah- taken to imply either that he is the only divine being or that the other divine beings are mere extensions of his will.
God at War, p.118

Radically, Boyd describes the cosmos as a democracy. Free beings both earthly and celestial have a large degree of autonomy and the potential to resist God's purposes for the universe.



Boyd goes on to provide some discussion about what is meant by 'monotheism.' He concludes that the Scriptures teach creational monotheism, the view that all things have been created by one all-powerful God, but that the existence of lesser created gods is not ruled out. He provides some useful discussion about anthropological theories about the origins of polytheism and animism.


As regards the heavenly council of Yahweh, Boyd writes:

The centrality of this concept of the Lord as being surrounded by a council of gods is seen n the fact that one of the most frequent ascriptions of Yahweh is "the Lord of hosts." He is described as being revered by the multitudes of "holy ones" who "are around him" in his heavenly council (Ps 89:7), for it is he who "has taken his place in the divine council" and in the midst of the gods... holds judgment" (82:1).
God at War, p.131

Boyd sees further support for this heavenly council concept in the discourse between God and Satan before the 'sons of God' in the first chapter of Job.

The reality of heavenly warfare is developed further in the biblical literature through references to the army of the Lord, for instance, the vision of Elisha's servant (2 Kings 2:11). The Lord is engaged in warfare which entails actual battles between heavenly beings on His side and the side of the Enemy.

Boyd argues that the 'gods of the nations', in the biblical worldview, are real beings. Angels were originally assigned to oversee and protect the nations (Deut 32:7-9), some or all of which have rebelled. This is supported by the reference in Daniel 10 to the powerful prince of Persia and the prince of Greece. A particularly important text in this regard is Psalm 82:

1 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty;
he judgeth among the gods.


2 How long will ye judge unjustly,
and accept the persons of the wicked?
Selah.


3 Defend the poor and fatherless:
do justice to the afflicted and needy.


4 Deliver the poor and needy:
rid them out of the hand of the wicked.


5 They know not, neither will they understand;
they walk on in darkness:
all the foundations of the earth are out of course.


6 I have said, Ye are gods;
and all of you are children of the Most High.


7 But ye shall die like men,
and fall like one of the princes.


8 Arise, O God, judge the earth:
for thou shalt inherit all nations.

Boyd takes the view that these gods are angels who have been given the task of overseeing the welfare of people on earth, yet who have rebelled against Him. In his later work Satan and the Origin of Evil, Boyd argues this passage implies that some fallen angels at some point had the opportunity to repent and to be saved. In his view, Satan also had such an opportunity at some time in the distant past, an opportunity he has now rejected and is thus doomed.

Psalm 82 is a text I examined myself earlier on this blog. I argued that the angels are an hierarchy if gods or divine beings. Some of these have fallen and it is God's purpose to exalt redeemed human beings to their level. Thus, though this sounds like Mormonism, I believe it is the goal of the Christian to become a god. I would suggest that the error of Mormonism is not in teaching that man can become a god (which is actually true), but rather their error is in reducing God to the level of a glorified human. Accusations of heresy or crypto-Mormonism are welcome in the comments post.





In arguing for the importance of angelic activity in the biblical worldview, Boyd defends the view that the Sons of God in Genesis 6 are angels who intermarried with human beings. He raises some convincing arguments against alternative interpreations of this text. Greg Boyd has recently written some really interesting stuff on the Nephilim on his blog.

Boyd argues that accepting the 'second storey' or the world in-between is very difficult for westerners with their rationalist assumptions:

This notion, that there exists a council, or a society, of divine beings beteeen humans and God who, like us, have free wills and can therefore influence the flow of history for better or for worse is obviously jarring to a number of western worldview assumptions. Indeed, for many believers it is foreign to their Western Christian assumptions as well. For a variety of reasons, Westerners have trouble taking seriously the "world in between" us and God, what one missiologist appropriately called "the flaw of the excluded middle." Even when westerners do theoretically acknowledge the existence of "angels," we tend to view them as mindless volitionless, wholly innocuous winged marionettes completely controlled by the will of their Creator.
God at War, p.140

Indeed, the doctrine of angels has been tragically minimized in Christian theology. The liberals are happy to reject belief in angels while evangelicals will dedicate three pages out of a five hundred page systematic theology to the subject.







In some quarters of western society there does seem to be a revival of interest in the 'second storey' with the fascination for UFOs and extraterrestrials and the New Age movement's adoption of angelogy. My boss at work could be described as a New Ager and she is fascinated by angels and spirits. I really believe that Christians need to recover the importance of the doctrine of angels. Perhaps some dialogue between Christian theology and the New Age movement might be helpful. Maybe just as we need to risk being accused of being cult followers, we need to risk being accused of being New Agers or Hippies.

In concluding chapter four, Boyd emphasies his central thesis that evil and suffering on earth can be explained in terms of the activity of fallen angelic beings. He suggests that the horrors of Nazi Germany might have been the result of the work of a cosmic 'prince of Germany' just like the prince of Persia of old.

Can men and women become gods?

by Matthew

An elderly gentleman at my church once said to me, in a voice that suggested that he was about to say something really shocking:

You know, there is a chorus that we sing that I don't agree with. That one with the line 'Among the gods there is none like you.' Well, there are no other gods, are there?

This man can perhaps be forgiven for not knowing that the line he found objectionable was a quotation from Psalm 86:

8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord;
neither are there any works like unto thy works.

I will pass over the question of what is meant by gods in that psalm and quote Psalm 82:

1 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty;
he judgeth among the gods.


2 How long will ye judge unjustly,
and accept the persons of the wicked?
Selah.


3 Defend the poor and fatherless:
do justice to the afflicted and needy.


4 Deliver the poor and needy:
rid them out of the hand of the wicked.


5 They know not, neither will they understand;
they walk on in darkness:
all the foundations of the earth are out of course.


6 I have said, Ye are gods;
and all of you are children of the Most High.


7 But ye shall die like men,
and fall like one of the princes.


8 Arise, O God, judge the earth:
for thou shalt inherit all nations.

This psalm is vitally important in considering the broad use of the term 'god' in the Bible.

G.H. Pember took the view that there are two different uses of the term god in this psalm.

He wrote:

The gods of the second line are angels- in this case, of course, fallen angels- so he called as being agents of God... A similar use of the term may be found in the ninety-seventh Psalm, in quoting from which Paul renders the clause, "Worship Him all ye gods," by "Let all the angels of God worship Him." Earth's Earliest Ages, p.41

Why are angels here called gods? I would suggest it is because they are created to reflect the awesome glory of God, because of their celestial location and because they constiture an hierarchy which exercises authority int he spiritual realm. It is also significant that though they are called gods, they are not meant to be objects of worship. I have argued on this blog that it is the purpose of God to bring men and women, of both the church and the faithful of the OLd Testament into that position of reflecting God's glory and exercising authority in heavenly places. It is the purpose of God to replace the fractured and fallen hierarchy of angelic beings that governed the original creation with a new hierarchy of gods, taken from among the sons and daughters of Adam.

It is significant that our Lord Jesus defended His right to call Himself the 'Son of God' with reference to this Psalm. Thus, His quotation of the Psalm is not a statement of His deity (which is clearly taught in other places), but rather a claim to be a deified created being. Though the Lord Jesus Christ is eternally the Son, the second member of the Trinity, His human nature being of created matter is brough into a relationship of being deified. His flesh is transfigured and transformed so as to reflect divine glory. It is as a man that our Lord has ascended into glory and sat down with all majesty and power in the heavenly realms. There as an human being, the Lord Jesus is recognised by the Father as heir of all things.

The believer is thus, through the new birth, brought into membership of a new divinized amd deified humanity. The Christian shares in the divine life and through faith she can recognise her divine union with Christ and thus access to the power for spiritual living. At the rapture, her union with the Trinune God is realized physically in her body and soul being transformed to be wholly heavenly in character, as are the bodies of angels. The only question then is whether she has attained to the right of heirship in the new hierachy of celestial humanity. This depends upon her service in the sphere of the kingdom of heaven. Those that have laboured most faithfully will receive a marvellous position at the top of the celestial hierarchy, those that have sowed sparingly will reap sparingly and will thus receive a humbler position. Those that forsake the calling of God will fail to inherit the kingdom and the privileges of heirs altogether.

The chief end of man is to become a god, that is one of the Sons of the Most High and to receive all the privileges of this position, namely having all things subject to him. Are you going to be among those who inherit such a great salvation?

A Sermon on Hebrews 2:5-11

by Matthew

I preached this yesterday at a tiny village chapel.

Hebrews 2

5: For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
6: But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
7: Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
8: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
9: But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
10: For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11: For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

I think it is safe to say that some people really enjoy reading Hebrews and some people don’t. I knew a young man who said he wished Hebrews had never been included in the New Tesament. I am very sorry he felt that way. There are some difficult issues in Hebrews, nevertheless there is some wonderfully rich theology in it.

In the first chapter of Hebrews, the author establishes Christ’s superiority over angels and His supremacy. The question in the first chapter is the deity of Christ.


The second chapter that we are looking at today deals rather with the humanity of Christ. Many of us will have been remembering the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ on Christmas day. The incarnation of God is perhaps the most wonderful and unique aspects of Christianity.

Yet often those of us who are conservative in theology become so focused on defending the deity of Christ that we forget the significance of our Lord’s humanity. Why does it really matter that God became man?

Hebrews 2 gives us a glorious insight into the significance of the incarnation of the Word of God.


The author quotes from Psalm 8 and shows that this Psalm is messianic and futurist in its outlook.

‘What is man that thou art mindful of him?’

In the Milky Way, our galaxy, there are at least 200 billion stars. There are billions of galaxies in the universe, all containing billions of stars. Yet God is concerned about this planet earth and those that live on it.


Is there life on other planets? Some Christians say definitely not. The Bible does not say. If there is life on other planets, it is there because God made it, not because of any statistical probability that has been dreamed up by those that think life came about by chance. I leave it to you to think about that. Regardless of whether there is life on other planets, God cares most about this one.

We do know that there is another kind of life in the universe. That is angels. When God made Adam, He made him to be perfect in his body and mind. Yet he was still made a little lower than the angels. Angels have glorious bodies that are mighty in power and strength. The bodies of angels are not subject to the same limitations that we are subject to. They can travel between earth and heaven, while we are bound to stay here on earth. Angels seem to excel over man in their beauty. Yet God chose to put man in charge of this earth. God is working out his purposes through men and women. He chose those that are weak.

Think for a moment about the dream that Jacob had of a stairway to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. What did those angels think as they looked upon Jacob? Jacob would have been sweaty and dirty from his travels.

The feet of the angels must have gleamed as they gracefully trod that celestial staircase. In contrast, Jacob’s feet must have been covered in dust. What did those angels think as they looked upon this man?

Did they say “Look, its that man! The man our Lord commanded us to watch over. What’s so special about him?”


Yet Jacob was special to God, as are all God’s elect.


God gave Adam the responsibility to care for this world and to have charge over it. It must be said that mankind has made something of pickle of exercising dominion over the earth. Mankind has run the earth with the same efficency that the present governments have shown in looking after confidential data.

Yet though God knew that man would fail to exercise dominion over the earth with justice and righteousness, it was always God’s purpose to give man more responsibility.


We see here in the Psalm quoted in this chapter that God put all the works of His hands into the power of man. That includes the moon, the stars, heaven and the angels in it. God is going to put mankind in charge of the entire universe. God created man in his image, so that man could exercise governmental authority over the universe. As the apostle Paul said, ‘Know ye not that we shall judge angels?’ God’s people in heaven are going to be in charge of the angels. Thus, the author of Hebrews points out that not all things are yet put under him. The time when mankind is the chief administrator of God’s kingdom is not yet come.

What an incredible thought that God is going to give the government of the universe to mankind?



Yet there is the problem of man’s failure. God cannot overlook the sinfulness of man and the failure of humanity to follow God’s blueprint for life.

That is why God became man. Jesus was made a little lower than angels for our sakes.


In the Old Testament, God appeared several times in bodily form as an angel. Yet Jesus in the incarnation did not take on the flesh of angels, but became a man as we are with all it limitations. The glorious form of an angel might have been a fitting form for Him, yet He became a man.

As this passage tells us, He did this so that He might taste death for every man. That He might suffer the penalty for sin, which is death.

The crucifixtion of the Lord Jesus Christ seems like a horrible event, yet He was crowned with glory and honour because of it. Christ has proved Himself to be the only man who has been faithful and obedient to God.


Thus He is the new Adam, or more correctly the Last Adam. Adam failed in His obedience to God, yet Christ was perfect in faithfulness. While Adam failed as a candidate to exercise dominion over the earth, Jesus Christ proved Himself, by His faithfulness to be worthy to rule over the universe and when all things are subject to Him, He shall exercise that authority.


As the last Adam, Christ is the head of a new race of heavenly humanity, a new kind of humanity made in His image. Born-again believers in Him are united to Him sharing His life. They have the power by the Holy Spirit to live as He did, perfect in their faithfulness. If you are in Christ, you have the power to live a victorious life. Those who are in Christ by faith can become ever more Christ-like in their conduct.

It is God’s purpose that this new humanity should inherit His kingdom. It is His purpose that all things, things in heaven and things on earth should be subject to Christ and those that are in Him. In the future, the resurrected saints will constitute a kind of celestial aristocracy that will govern the universe.


This calls for faithfulness. The apostle Paul wrote that “If we suffer with Christ, we shall reign with Him.” If we suffer for Christ’s sake we can be sure of reigning with Him in glory. In Revelation chapter 3, we read that great promise that the one who overcomes will sit down with Christ in His throne, even as He is sat in His Father’s throne. If we perservere in faith we can look to inheriting the throne of the universe.


Is this a wrong attitude? Some Christians talk as though seeking any kind of reward for faithfulness is selfish. However, the Bible encourages us to seek the rewards and privileges of the kingdom. God displays His glory by bestowing it on His subjects.

Christ is glorified by bringing many sons to glory, as it says in this passage. He is the head of a new race of humanity who He is pleased to make as He is. His people are to be like Him, not only in their resurrection form, but in the privileges they are granted in the kingdom.


Therefore we should seek more of the kingdom of God. We should seek the reward of inheriting all things.

But it is necessary to prove that we are fit to rule God’s kingdom. Have we to be faithful in small things before we are entrusted with everything. In the parable of the pounds, the one who had been faithful in little was entrusted with ten cities.

Sadly, often Christians show that they are not fit to be heirs of the kingdom. When there is division in churches, is this not a sign that Christians are not very good at running the affairs of their master? When Christian husbands and fathers fail to show the godly leadership that is called for in the home, is this not a sign that they are not fit to rule over one, let alone ten cities? If we are to inherit the earth we must show diligence over those things that we are entrusted with.


It may be that you are not yet a Christian. It may be that you have not yet found that heavenly position that is in Christ. I say to you, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Have faith on Him for everlasting life.

Jesus was made a little lower than the angels so that He could taste death for sinners like you and me. He ascended into heaven so that we can be granted access to that place. He possesses the very life of God and if we trust in Him, we receive eternal life.

If you would only believe on the Lord Jesus then you can be part of a new heavenly humanity. You can be assured of a glorious future in heaven and the opportunity to inherit the kingdom of God. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Warfare in Heaven

by Matthew

Images taken from Gustave Dore's illustrations of Paradise Lost, with the exception of the last, which is an illustration from Dante's Divine Comedy by the same artist.

The Bible tells a titanic struggle between good and evil. We might enjoy reading about the clash between the forces of good and evil in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, but in the Scriptures, we read of a far epic and cosmic conflict. The warfare between the kingdoms of light and darkness is waged not just over this earth, but in the heavenly realms too.

The universe was created for God's glory. The glory of God is the chief end of all creation. He created the universe to be under His sovereign rule, to be ordered according to His purposes. However, Satan one of His angels sought to usurp the throne of the most high. We read of this in the Old Testament:

Isaiah 14
12: How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13: For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15: Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Satan or Lucifer became lifted up by reason of his great beauty and privilege in God's eternal kingdom. He desired to exalt himself.

Satan was joined in his rebellion by many angels. Revelation 12 would suggest that a third of the angels joined with Satan. Satan thus established his own counterfeit kingdom in the heavens. Just as God has His angels who serve Him, Satan has his own angels. Together they make up a hierarchy of evil, for they are called thrones, dominions, principalities and powers. This kingdom of opposition will wage war until its final defeat by the kingdom of God.


When did this rebellion begin? The Scriptures do not tell us. However, it would seem that it began in prehistory before the creation week of Genesis 1. There are good reasons for thinking that there is a period in between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. We do cannot know how long and those who use this theory to explain geological time have many difficulties. Nevertheless, the state of formlessness in which we find the world in Genesis 1:2 is likely the result of Satan's original rebellion. Teh original would thus have been created to be inhabited and administered by angels, yet this creation fell into ruin and was replaced by the world in which we now dwell.

God closed the former dispensation of pre-history and began a new work with mankind. He entrusted to them the dominion of earth. Humanity, made a little lower than the angels was chosen to be the new custodians of God's kingdom.

Yet though Satan's original rebellion was judged and halted, he did not cease his war and corrupted the new creation by obtaining the loyalty of man. Through capturing the hearts of men, Satan was able to re-establish his rule over the world. So we find in Scripture that Satan is called the prince or god of this world. His kingdom holds sway over it. The apostle Paul tells of this kingdom of darkness and its influence over the world:

Ephesians 6
12: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

We read in Daniel of a 'prince of Persia', no doubt a fallen angel of great power, who presumably exercised dominion over the heathen people of Persia. There are some Charismatic Christians who make much of 'Territorial spirits' and seek to do spiritual warfare against such beings. This is folly. We do not begin to have the knowledge to know how to fight such beings directly, nor do we need to know the details of how Satan's kingdom works in some particular location. The Christian should not trouble about the details of what territorial spirits there might be and rather fight through simple prayer and the preaching of the Word. That is our place in this cosmic conflict.

It is necessary to mention a second fall of angels. There are some who connect this with Satan, though there is not sufficent evidence to make that connection. This is the fall of the sons of God, in the time of Enoch and Noah, who saw that the daughters of women were fair, as we read in Genesis 6. From the wicked intermarriage of angels and humans came a race of giants who were wiped out in the flood (though the giants of Canaan were probably a similar race). It is likely that the demons are the disembodied spirits of these beings.

God wasted no time in judging the angels of this second rebellion:

Jude
6: And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

We do not know how the course of the warfare in heaven effects events on earth, but we have reason to believe there is some connection, however mysterious. Deborah sang of how the battle on earth was waged in heaven too:

Judges 5
20: They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.

Elisha's servant was given a vision of the legions of angels who were on the side of Elisha:

2 Kings 6
15: And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
16: And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17: And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

The marvellous thing about this story is not the vision that the servant received, but that Elisha had no need for it. By faith he knew of the spiritual forces that were on his side.

We must not forget to look at Job. At the beginning of the book of Job, we see Satan in heaven with the sons of God. We learn from this story that Satan's actions are limited by God's control. Satan cannot act outside the sphere that God limits him to.


The warfare in heaven will come to a climax in the end times, at the middle of Daniel's Seventieth Week. We read in Revelation chapter 12:

7: And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8: And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9: And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10: And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12: Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Satan will be defeated in heaven and he and his angels will be sent down to earth. There he will aid the Beast and the Antichrist in opposing God on earth through persecuting the church and the remnant of Israel. Once he is expelled from heaven, Satan will no longer be able to domminate the affairs of earth with the same governmental authority. He will have to rely entirely on his human intermediaries. After the defeat of his followers at Armageddon, he will be bound for a thousand years. He will no longer be able to wreak havoc in the earth.

Once Satan is removed from heaven, the celesital realms are ready to be purified and made fresh. They shall burn with fire at Christ's coming, as we read in 2 Peter 3:12.
The removal of Satan and his angelic kingdom is a vital step in God's purposes. For the new heavens shall be the seat of government for a new celestial hierarchy. The Lord has prepared a replacement for the old angelic government of angels in a people He has gathered to Himself. This is the church and the resurrected saints of the Old Testament. They shall reign with Christ and consitute a new celestial aristocracy to govern the universe. By grace, the fall of Satan and his angels made way for the uplifting of man to the highest place in the universe. All things shall be subject to mankind (the son of man and those that are in Him).

The final battle shall take place after the millennium. Satan shall be let out and shall again gather a rebellion of wicked men. Though the earth shall be governed in the millennium by peace and righteousness, the heart of man is wicked. Sinful man can never be satisfied with God's goodness. People shall turn again to Satan's lies. Yet they shall be defeated swiftly. Though they may hope that Satan might have some last trick to save them, they will be vanquished and sent to the lake of fire forever, to be tormented day and night with Satan, the one to whom they offered their lives.

With the ultimate defeat of death and sin, God may be all in all. The cosmos shall be restored to perfect fellowship with God and all of creation, man, woman, beast, angel shall all be joined in harmony with the eternal love of the Triune God, experiencing the perfect fellowship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit and being transformed and transfigured by that divine love.

The Church is the real Queen of Heaven

by Matthew



Naturally, as fundamentalists we consider the marian veneration of the Roman Catholic church to be idolatry and abhorrent.

I do think the image of the Virgin is a striking one. The idea of worshipping Mary as goddess seems to me incredibly seductive. Sometimes I feel like converting to Roman Catholicism. However, I know that to do so would be a denial of the Gospel of grace and a denial of the authority of the Word of God. It would be apostasy from everything I believe in.



Much as the Roman Catholics apply the term 'Queen of Heaven' to the mother of our Lord, it seems to be far more appropriate to call the church the 'Queen of Heaven.'

We cannot go to far in emphasising the future glory of the church.

The church is the bride of Christ. The church was hidden in the eternal counsels of God. Christ loved the church before the foundation of the world and the formation of the church as the holy bride of Christ is the highest and greatest fruit of divine grace.

Ephesians 5
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26 that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

27 that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

30 for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Just as a husband and wife become united in their flesh, in our mystic union with Christ, we are united to Him. The church is thus the body of Christ. This union will be realised in the resurrection, when our flesh is transfigured into the likeness of Christ. Our flesh will be deified in Him. Just as Christ's humanity is joined in inseperable union with His divine nature, our flesh will also be united to the godhead through union with Christ. It will come to share in that heavenly glory which our risen Lord posesses now. The union that we now know only spiritually will be realised physically.

Revelation 19
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

A queen is granted all the splendour and dignity of her royal husband. So will the church. In the eschaton, the glory and beauty of the church will be displayed before the entire cosmos.

A king does not necessarilly share his governmental authority with his queen. However, in the case of Christ and His church, there certainly is joint rule. The saints are called to reign with Christ, to share in His sovereign government.

Revelation 22
1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

4 and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Receiving the privilege of reigning with Christ is dependant upon faithful service. However, all believers are indwellt with the Holy Spirit. They are sanctified in Christ. Every believer has the power to overcome, to live a life of faithful service. The church is called to be a victorious people. The yoke of Christ is easy and His burden is light.

1 Corinthians 2
9 But as it is written,
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man,
the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

A Cute Picture of Jacob's Ladder and some thoughts

by Matthew

What are these angels thinking? What would run through the mind of an angel at such a time?

They look a little curious. They are keeping a slight distance.

The man they look at is hardly elegant in his sleep. No doubt he was dirty and sweaty from his travels. There is a great contrast between their purity and beauty and his own coarseness. Their barefeet gleam as they tread the celestial staircase, in contrast to Jacob's dusty feet.

The second angel up looks excited and is calling to his fellows. Perhaps he is saying:

Look, it's that man.
No, not just any man. The man our Lord is so concerned about. The one He sent us to watch over. Come and have a look at him. Maybe you have some idea what the big deal is about this guy.

Psalm 8
4 what is man, that thou art mindful of him?
and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,
and hast crowned him with glory and honor.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;
thou hast put all things under his feet:

The angels are wonderful creatures. In their glory and beauty they reflect the wonder and holiness of God.

Yet God is not accomplishing His purpose in establishing His eternal kingdom through angels. No God has chosen to work through humanity and it will be glorified men and women who exercise domminion over the universe when the Son of man puts down all rulers and authorities that oppose His rule. The saints will inherit the earth with Christ, and not only earth but heaven, for they shall judge angels.

God was mindful of that man Jacob. A weak and frail man, lacking in faith and integrity of character.

God loved that man in all his failings. From the ancestry of Jacob came our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ was a man, knowing all the limitations of our weak flesh. He did not take on the beautiful and heavenly flesh of angels, but the flesh of men.

Yet now this man, the risen and ascended Christ is seated in heaven, Lord over all. His flesh is glorified. His humanity now reflects the glory of God as does the flesh of angels.

Those men and women who are in Christ shall one day be brought into that position of heavenly glory. The Christian may feel frail and weak and dirty, yet one day she shall be transformed into the likeness of Christ. In Christ the Christian shall be deified in her flesh. Those Christians who have faithfully served their Lord will inherit all, as He has. They shall rule over multitudes of angels. They will ascend higher than Jacob's ladder.

Do those angels in the picture long to look into these things?

The Transfiguration and Deification

by Matthew

A lot of Christians puzzle over what is meant in the Transfiguration, yet this incident in the life of our Lord is surely the one of the most glorious and holds much signifcance for our own salvation.

Luke 9
28 ¶ And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.

29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.

30 And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Eli'jah:

31 who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.

32 But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.

33 And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Eli'jah: not knowing what he said.

34 While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.

35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son:

36 And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.

When it says that Peter did not know what he was saying, a lot of people think this was one of Peter's typical foot-in-mouth comments. I rather take the view that what he was saying was prophetical in character. He referred to making tabernacles. In this he was showing that the feast of tabernacles was being fulfilled.

The people of Israel dwellt in tabernacles and so did the Ark of the Covenant, in which was the presence of God, the holiest thing on earth. The Transfiguration shows that again, God's presence was on earth, this time in hypostatic union with humanity in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. There will be another fulfillment of this in the Millennium when the earh shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). But the ultimate fulfillment of the feast of the tabernacles is in the eternal state, for it says in Revelation 21:

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

The entire universe is to be filled with the presence of God! It says in 1 Corinthians 15:

27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

The cosmos is to be transfigured. Through Christ it will be united to God and deified in Him, that God may be all in all.

But before this, the believer is to glorified or transfigured.

To understand the Transfiguration we have to remember what happened to Moses:

Exodus 34
29 ¶ And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Si'nai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

Moses had been in the presence of God. The presence of God is where God's holy uncreated energies are manifest. This is God's life and it transforms and transfigures. Moses was transformed by being in the presence of God. He experienced a partial glorification.

In the Transfiguration, the glory of God was revealed in Christ. His human nature did not become intermingled with His divine nature. No. His human nature was temporarily glorified and transfigured by His divinity. Now that He is risen and ascended into heaven, our Lord is fully glorified.

At His coming our Lord shall gather His redeemed to Himself and glorify and transform them. We shall still be human beings of flesh, but our flesh will be changed and transfigured through Christ. Through Christ's hypostatic union of humnaity and divinity, we come to participate in the divine and in Christ our flesh will be deified. We shall become God as He is God. We shall be like Him. It is the purpose of God in the church to make a new man (Ephesians 2:10), a new kind of humanity.

The glorification of believers is proportionate. There are degrees of glory. Those that come to be of the house of Christ (Hebrews 3:6), who have overcome and suffered for His sake shall be glorified in a unique way. It says in Romans 8:

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

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

Those that have suffered for Christ receive the end in heirship with a greater glory. And these that are of the house of Christ are granted the privilege of exercising government over the universe as a race of divine beings. They may be said not only to have become one with God (as are all who are in Christ) but to have themselves become gods.

Who else is on the throne?

by Matthew

Let me quote C.H. Spurgeon:

To me Calvinism means the placing of the eternal God at the head of all things.

This is all well. But we must go beyond this. God has also put a man on the throne as the head of all things. That man is Jesus Christ.
He is exalted above all. Those who are in Christ positionally share in His glory. In Him, they have a title to the government of the universe. If they overcome the world and serve their Lord faithfully, they may enjoy that privilege, sharing in the sovereign rule of God over all things.

Hebrews 1
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2 hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

3 who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

4 being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

8 But unto the Son he saith,
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever:
a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;
therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee
with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

Hebrews 2
6 But one in a certain place testified, saying,
What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
or the son of man, that thou visitest him?

7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels;
thou crownedst him with glory and honor,
and didst set him over the works of thy hands:

8 thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.
For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

9 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 should taste death for every man.

10 ¶ For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Calvinism is weak in its anthropology because of its lack of a doctrine of deification. The Calvinists may deride the idea of free-will as the enthronment of man, but this is in actuallity the glorious truth of the Word of God! The goal of the Christian should be to be lifted up onto the throne of God and to share in His sovereign rule over all things.

The Importance of Free-Will in a Truly Cosmic Soteriology: Does free-will deify man?

by Matthew

The Calvinists charge that belief in the freedom of the will deifies man. I would plead guilty to this charge. Indeed, the fact that man's will is free serves only to affirm the truth of Scripture that the deification of man is within God's purposes. Furthermore, in a real sense, the Bible affirms the sovereignty of man, both in his determination of his destiny and in God's delegation of sovereignty to redeemed and glorified humanity, who in the kingdom will constiture a class of gods or divine beings; a celestial aristocracy who will exercise rule over the universe.

Firstly, man has been created in the image and likeness of God.

Genesis 1
26 ¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

The Eastern Orthodox distinguish between image and likeness. While this distinction has no certain exegetical basis, it does make sense in practical and experimental terms. Image is static, but likeness is dynamic. Image constitutes that part of every human being that reflects God. A strong case can be made that this is free-will or at least that free-will has a part in it. Likeness, however, is dynamic. The extent ot which we are in God's likeness varies. As we draw close to God and yield ourselves to Him, we begin to think His thoughts and act in accordance with His will and thus realise to a greater extent our likeness to Him.

And God gave man dominion over the earth. He gave him the responsiblity to exercise ruleship over the planet. This was a delegation of sovereingty. God stepped back from exercising complete sovereignty over the planet and allowed man to reign over it, determining its direction. That man allowed the world to fall into Satan's grip is the greatest tragedy in history.

Although Adam and Eve were godlike, both in their created capacity and in their responsibility, they wanted to be more like God, or at least Eve did. They wanted a quick and easy route to full deification.

Thus, Eve fell to Satan's promise 'Ye shall be as gods.' There is a true deification which is by God's grace and there is a false deification, the promise of many false religions. The idea is that man can become divine by his efforts, not by grace. Thus, the use of rituals and magic principles in the Occult. Such ideas have been secularised by the evolutionists and humanists.

It is possible that Adam and Eve might have been permitted to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil had they been faithful in the responsiblity that God had apportioned them. There dominion might well have been extended to the rest of the cosmos, as it will be for the faithful Christian who inherits the kingdom in the eschaton. But no, they desired progress at a faster speed than that which God intended.

The result of Adam and Eve's fall was the fracture of creation and the turmoil of all human society. Thus, it was necessary for God to introduce another principle and delegation of His sovereignty after the terrible judgment of the Flood.

This was the principle of human government:

Genesis 9
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require: at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

God delegated authority to men to form governments and to wield judicial power. Because man is made in God's likeness he is able to exercise God's judgment on the evildoer, even to the point of taking life. Hence it says in Psalm 86, of the judgees of Israel 'ye are gods':

6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High.

The authority of king is a reflection of God's own power. Hence it says in Ecclesiastes 8:

4 Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?

It is God's purpose for His heavenly people; the Church of this dispensation, and the resurrected saints of the Old Testament, to have power over the whole of creation. To share in God's sovereign rule beyond this sphere. Thus, the redeemed man is created to be a god or at least a divine being; one who can have dominion over all.

This relationship is formed through union with Christ. The Christian is first and foremost deified in Christ. He is indentified with Him and shares in Christ's vital union with the godhead. Just as Christ's flesh becomes God through its union with His deity, our flesh becomes God in its union with the risen Christ, first spiritually and then physically in our resurrection and glorification. In a sense that will be our Transfiguration.

The Christian is identified in His regeneration with the sphere of heaven:

Ephesians 1
3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Ephesians 2
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6 and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

The Christian is identified with the sphere of heaven, the sphere of divine glory. This is the sphere of government over the universe. He is also identified with Christ, who is the heir of all things, appointed to be the head of the universe. Thus, the Christian has a title to the government of the universe.

However, God has His tests, His probationary period. Before a Christian is granted that incredible privilege of ruling creation, she must show herself to be a faithful servant. She must overcome the world and live for her Lord in this world:

Revelation 3
21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

To inherit the kingdom one must live as God would have us live.

Even in this we have the responsiblity to use the free-will that God has given us. A lot of Christians fall into error in this area. They think that God has a specific calling for every Christian to a very specific area of ministry. Often Christians never use the gifts that the Holy Spirit has entrusted them with because they believe that they must be certain that they have a 'calling.' However, there is little indication in Scripture of this doctrine of a 'calling.' God has given us gifts and He expects us to make decisions as to how we use them. We see this in the parable of the talents. The lord does not tell his servants what they are to do; rather he expects them to make decisions as to how they will make use of their talent. Likewise in 1 Corinthians 3:

10 ¶ According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

13 every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Every Christian must take care how she builds. She needs to make decisions about how she will use the gifts that God has given her.

It is most awesome indeed to trace the history of God's dealings with man and how the free-will of man is placed under responsibility to divine service. That we are lifted up to the heights of divinity in our relationship to God should not be an embarassment to us; but it should be an incentive to worship, an incentive to seek more of God's presence and the proportionate deification in which that leads and an incentive to seek the wonderful privileges that the Lord will grant to those who occupy until He comes. Let us labour for the master from dawn until setting sun!

Dead or alive

by Matthew

Referring to Ephesians 2:1, a Calvinist friend at the church prayer meeting yesterday told me:

You dont believe unbelievers are dead in trespasses and sins, do you?

I replied that I certainly did, though he had a point. I have seldom given much thought to what that term 'dead' actually means.

It occurred to me that people focus too much on what it means to be dead and not enough on the fact that the death is the absence of life.

An unbeliever does not have life. And that life is the life of God. The divine energy by which God acts towards us in grace, cloaking us in His holiness, granting us His mind, His wisdom and transforming us into the pattern of the divine humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The life that is imparted in regeneration is a dynamic life, not a static quality but a force that changes the whole being.

In regeneration, we come to share in the vital union of God and man that Jesus posesses. We become God-men, not as Christ is, for there can only be one true God-Man, but in our position in Him. Our sharing in His divine life and in Him, the eternal love of the Triune God. We experience His love and in turn, He produces love in us.

That is the life that the unbeliever lacks. In her lack of this, she is dead.