JREnsey blog April 2024

The Word for today

I Peter 2:1-3: “So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. ² Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, ³ now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness” (NLT).

♦♦♦♦♦♦

Trump and Biden offer Easter messages

It’s election season, of course, and candidates are appealing for every vote out there. They do so in strange ways at times.

Former President Donald Trump wished a “happy Easter” to all his political adversaries, RINOs, Democrats, and “Socialists, Marxists, & communists who are killing our nation.” In past Easter segments, he has touted the Bible and mentioned “the holy week and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” He has acknowledged his Christian background from his youth which has apparently lingered in his mind.

President Joe Biden also had an Easter message. He declared Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024, as “Transgender Visibility Day.” He said, “Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans. You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire Administration and I have your back. …I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our nation.” It is reported that he further denied anyone at the White House to post any word about Christ, the resurrection, or display any Christian symbols on this day.

What a contrast.

♦♦♦♦♦♦

Isn’t it true…

…that if the economy was doing great you wouldn’t have to tell people every day? We would know. – PP

…that a lie is around the world before truth has its britches on?

…that the strength of a lie is in our inability to recognize it?

…that “you are the master of your unspoken words, but a slave to the words you have spoken”? – Winston Churchill

…that you can “forgive” debt when it is your money, but when forcing others to pay for it isn’t “forgiveness,” it’s theft? PP

…that tiny-brained folk would much rather hear and believe a negative rumor than the positive truth?

…that if you are doing better than you were three years ago, you are probably an illegal immigrant.

…“the most powerful factors in the world are clear ideas in the minds of energetic men of good will”? – J. Arthur Thomson

…that one of the basic differences between Catholicism and Apostolic Pentecostals is that the RCC formed their fundamental doctrines from the writings and discussions of their philosophizing “church fathers” (c. A.D. 200-450), while Pentecostals have formed their beliefs and practices from the Bible records of the teaching of Jesus and the Apostles?

…that we should never let anyone take away our freedoms because of “the greater good,” because freedom is the greater good? PP

…that the church can survive without America, but America cannot survive without the church? Our laws were made for a God-fearing people. When America no longer has a majority of God-fearing people, our laws will not fit this nation. Even now they are being changed to fit a godless minority.

…that if we do not learn from history we are bound to repeat it?

…that most of the oil is in Texas, but all of the dipsticks are in Washington?

…Stephen Hawkins said, “Religion is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” I said, “Atheism is a fairy story for people afraid of the light.”  – John Lennox

…that we should pray that this scripture would never be fulfilled by our beloved Apostolic Movement: “Childish leaders oppress my people, and women rule over them. O my people, your leaders mislead you; they send you down the wrong road” (Isaiah 3:12 NLT)?

…that April 1 should  be officially declared “President Joe Biden Day” in America?

♦♦♦♦♦♦

Hold on to your hat!

Adam Clarke’s Bombshell Commentary on Luke 1:35

Adam Clarke was an astute exegete who said some things that let us know that he had grave concerns about the doctrine of the Trinity. Here he exposes a major factor of the doctrine as being heretical. His comments on Luke 1:35 express his position:

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.

“The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee” – This conception shall take place suddenly, and the Holy Spirit himself shall be the grand operator. The power, δυναμις, the miracle-working power of the Most High shall overshadow thee, to accomplish this purpose, and to protect thee from danger. As there is a plain allusion to the Spirit of God brooding over the face of the waters, to render them prolific, Genesis 1:2, I am the more firmly established in the opinion advanced on Matthew 1:20, that the rudiments of the human nature of Christ was a real creation in the womb of the virgin, by the energy of the Spirit of God.

“Therefore also that holy thing (or person) – shall be called the Son of God” – We may plainly perceive here, that the angel does not give the appellation of Son of God to the Divine nature of Christ; but to that holy person or thing, το ἁγιον, which was to be born of the virgin, by the energy of the Holy Spirit. The Divine nature could not be born of the virgin; the human nature was born of her. The Divine nature had no beginning; it was God manifested in the flesh, 1 Timothy 3:16; it was that Word which being in the beginning (from eternity) with God, John 1:2, was afterwards made flesh, (became manifest in human nature), and

Luke 1:35-37.

tabernacled among us, John 1:14. Of this Divine nature the angel does not particularly speak here, but of the tabernacle or shrine which God was now preparing for it, viz. the holy thing that was to be born of the virgin. Two natures must ever be distinguished in Christ: the human nature, in reference to which he is the Son of God and inferior to him, Mark 13:32; John 5:19; John 14:28, and the Divine nature which was from eternity, and equal to God, John 1:1; John 10:30; Romans 9:5; Colossians 1:16-18. It is true, that to Jesus the Christ, as he appeared among men, every characteristic of the Divine nature is sometimes attributed, without appearing to make any distinction between the Divine and human natures; but is there any part of the Scriptures in which it is plainly said that the Divine nature of Jesus was the Son of God? Here, I trust, I may be permitted to say, with all due respect for those who differ from me, that the doctrine of the eternal Sonship of Christ is, in my opinion, anti-scriptural, and highly dangerous. This doctrine I reject for the following reasons: –

1st. I have not been able to find any express declaration in the Scriptures concerning it.

2dly. If Christ be the Son of God as to his Divine nature, then he cannot be eternal; for son implies a father; and father implies, in reference to son, precedency in time, if not in nature too. Father and son imply the idea of generation; and generation implies a time in which it was effected, and time also antecedent to such generation.

3dly. If Christ be the Son of God, as to his Divine nature, then the Father is of necessity prior, consequently superior to him.

4thly. Again, if this Divine nature were begotten of the Father, then it must be in time; i.e. there was a period in which it did not exist, and a period when it began to exist. This destroys the eternity of our blessed Lord, and robs him at once of his Godhead.

5thly. To say that he was begotten from all eternity, is, in my opinion, absurd; and the phrase eternal Son is a positive self-contradiction. Eternity is that which has had no beginning, nor stands in any reference to Time. Son supposes time, generation, and father; and time also antecedent to such generation. Therefore the conjunction of these two terms, Son and eternity is absolutely impossible, as they imply essentially different and opposite ideas.

The enemies of Christ’s Divinity have, in all ages, availed themselves of this incautious method of treating this subject, and on this ground, have ever had the advantage of the defenders of the Godhead of Christ. This doctrine of the eternal Sonship destroys the deity of Christ; now, if his deity be taken away, the whole Gospel scheme of redemption is ruined. On this ground, the atonement of Christ cannot have been of infinite merit, and consequently could not purchase pardon for the offenses of mankind, nor give any right to, or possession of, an eternal glory. The very use of this phrase is both absurd and dangerous; therefore let all those who value Jesus and their salvation abide by the Scriptures. This doctrine of the eternal Sonship, as it has been lately explained in many a pamphlet, and many a paper in magazines, I must and do consider as an awful heresy, and mere sheer Arianism; which, in many cases, has terminated in Socinianism, and that in Deism. From such heterodoxies, and their abetters, may God save his Church! Amen!

Source: https://biblehub.com/commentaries/clarke/luke/1.htm

Ol’ man Clarke was stirred up, wasn’t he? Do you agree or disagree with him? Comments are welcome. You can comment on the postings below.

♦♦♦♦♦♦

 

The current level of science knowledge of Harvard grads:

♦♦♦♦♦♦

Last Words

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny…’”—Isaac Asimov, Biochemistry professor and author

I wonder what would be the most common exclamation uttered when one finally sees the oneness of the Godhead in Scripture? Share your ideas!

Enjoy April…it is one of my favorite months.

JREnsey