Born to Be God. (Sermon Notes) By Warren Zehrung 7/11/2015

Transcription

1 Born to Be God (Sermon Notes) By Warren Zehrung 7/11/2015 In the beginning, there was only God the Father and the Word, Jesus Christ. They were the only two beings that existed. They did not yet go by the names Father, Jesus, or even Elohim that would come later. Have you ever tried to picture what the relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ was like before Jesus came in the flesh? It is important for us to understand the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Father if we are going to have any semblance of understanding about the relationship of God the Father with us, and the relationship of Jesus Christ with us. Jesus Christ always pre-existed with the Father before He came in the form of man. This was before there was any such thing as time, because time has something to do with matter and material, and so forth. God has eternal life, He has been alive that long - forever. Together the Father and Jesus shared their existence in a timeless relationship. The bond between God the Father and Jesus Christ was perfect love and harmony. John wrote this: John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. John makes a very, very important clarification; And the Word was God. There were two entities, there was God the Father and there was Jesus Christ. God the Father and Jesus Christ were together in every respect. They shared a mutual Spiritual life that prescribed their unity in every aspect of their relationship. There was no division or disagreement between them only perfect Godly love. The beginning mentioned in John 1:1 is the earliest beginning in the Scriptures and much earlier, time wise, than the beginning of Genesis 1. And yet it was not a beginning at all because what John was saying is that this is way it always was always! Paul would later write of the one who became Jesus: Hebrews 7:3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; These verses in John 1 are talking about the foundation of everything, when there was nothing except God the Father and Jesus Christ. The first act of God, of which we are aware, is this: In their brilliant Godly love, they came up with a magnificent Plan a perfect Plan. It was the most grand and splendid Plan and design conceivable! God the Father and Jesus Christ decided that they would invest themselves in the greatest venture ever undertaken. Their Plan was to open their close-knit God- Family to others. They decided to share who and what they were with an extended family. Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: 1

2 That is what their grand and splendid Plan is making man into their image. Together they came up with their Plan to expand their Family. They did not see it as an intrusion into their family, but as an expansion of their love. For them, opening the God-Family to others was an act of sharing and giving of their Spiritual substance. They wished to share their everlasting God Life with an extended Family. Before launching into their Plan, they made absolutely certain that it was perfect and infallible. They had contingencies for every eventuality. Oh yes, there have been attacks on their Plan. Many of the angels rebelled... Adam and Eve went astray But God s Plan is sure the Family of God will be expanded. The Father and Jesus had an alternative course of action in place to allow for interruptions, such as Satan s rebellion and the sin of Adam and Eve. God the Father was not yet the Father because He became the Father when Jesus became the Son. They created that Father / Son family nomenclature as a prelude to expanding their God Family. Mankind exists for one reason and one reason alone; we were born to be God. What did it do to you the first time that you heard that you were going to be in the Family of God? That you were going to be like God and that you would be a child of God? That you were going to be above the angels and that you would be above all of these things. It was incredible and positively astounding, and it is no secret to the people of God what we are going to be. I suppose that the most surprising and extraordinary truth that we learned when being called by God to be a member of the Body of Christ was that we would become a part of the God Family. There will not be any bumping God the Father off of His throne as Lucifer sought to do. Isaiah 14:13 For [Lucifer] has said in his 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: Isaiah 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be the most High [God]. All reverence and worship will always be due to God the Father and Jesus Christ. Our Godly character will be such that it would never enter our minds to challenge God as Satan did. But, we won t be a rug under His feet either. We will not be minions or hirelings, but full-fledged constituents of the Family of God with God the Father and Jesus Christ as our older brother. How could such an superb state of affairs become a reality it is too much to fathom? We will be a part of God s close expanded Family. God's people will become spirit-born sons and daughters of God always looking up to our Father and Jesus Christ from whom everlasting Life flows. 2

3 The Father and Jesus Christ determined that they would extend their Godly relationship with others who would also become perfect and unspoiled in every way; always directed by flawless, righteous Godly character. For this to take place, Jesus would have to come to earth and redeem sinful man by dying in place of man. But God cannot die??? How can this be? How could the redemption of sinful man be accomplished? Jesus Christ would literally have to cease to exist so that men might have everlasting God-life. Philippians 2:6 [Jesus], being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: Philippians 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Jesus had emptied Himself of His glory, power and divine attributes in order to be able to come to the earth as a mere man and die. But the Plan was not for Jesus to remain dead forever but to be restored again to Life Eternal. At the end of His life on earth, Jesus said to His Father: John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the [former] glory which I had with you before the world was. Jesus had fulfilled His mission, and was eligible to be the anointed Messiah. After three days and three nights the Father restored the former glory, power and divinity that Jesus Christ had possessed in the eons past. We read how God the Father restored Jesus in: Ephesians 1:19... With the exceeding greatness of [God the Father s] power Ephesians 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Ephesians 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: When Christ was resurrected after His death, He became the firstborn Son of God. Many other sons and daughters would now be able to become Children of God. Jesus Christ had a perfect faith in God the Father to resurrect Him back to the life and glory that they shared before His incarnation. Reasoning People down through the ages have asked themselves this question, why was I born? Our ultimate destiny is to become members of the God family. We were born to be God. That is one of the questions that we have heard over and over in God s church - one that causes us to stop and think about our faith, our beliefs, and what everything is all about. There is a purpose for mankind. God is not a selfish Being who created mankind just for a temporary challenge or His own momentary pleasure. He has a very specific purpose in mind for you and me, and He explains it clearly in His Word, the Bible. He wants us to know His purpose. And once we know it, we will be full of excitement and appreciation that our God can be so loving and so generous. 3

4 It is indeed a sad commentary, but, how can the scattered church groups today be so calloused as not to reach out to all the others to become one people one family as our loving God is so willing to do? Jesus Christ, our elder brother, will hold us responsible for not recognizing our other brothers and sisters and embracing their fellowship. Since we have the perfect example set before us where God the Father and Jesus decided to share who and what they are with an extended family why are the churches of God today so reluctant to do so? Every person was created by God to fulfill a wonderful purpose, far beyond what many human beings have ever imagined. To answer this question, let s first turn to 1 John 3:1 and look at it carefully. John, the Apostle of Godly love, assures us that the process of becoming God has already begun in us because of the love of God! 1John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not. 1John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the Children of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. Let s look at this scripture very carefully to see what it is really saying. It begins by explaining that God has made us for the purpose of becoming His children. We were born to be God. He created us in order to reproduce Himself through humanity. It is just like when a beautiful young couple marries and desires to have a family, God feels the same way. God is a loving, creative Being who desires to share His Life and love with others. So He created mankind. Human beings were designed to become God s children. So in I John 3:1, the scripture is addressing the Church, and says that God refers to them as His children. The Church is comprised of the yet Spiritually unborn children of God. A physical analogy would be like a woman who is pregnant with her unborn child. It is her child, but it is not yet born. She does not yet see what it will be like, but she still considers it hers. The scripture continues by saying that when Jesus Christ is revealed we shall be like Him. When will He be revealed? It is when He returns to the earth at His second coming to establish His Kingdom. When this occurs, He will descend from heaven as King of kings, as a spirit being in great power and glory. Right now, Christ is sitting at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, and He possesses power to rule the universe. He is no longer a physical being as He was when He walked on the earth. When Christ appears at His second coming, the people who have comprised His church down through the ages will take on His divine characteristics. They will be transformed to appear as He is they will be given spiritual existence. At that time, they will be born into the God family and become the very children of God. 4

5 Becoming children of God is not just a platitude. It is not just some religioussounding words. But it is an altogether different kind of existence than we have today. Becoming children of God involves ruling over angels, having power that is superhuman, being able to span the globe in an instant, being able to make yourself visible or invisible, having a face that shines like the sun, never feeling physical pain again, living forever, being able to remember and understand things far beyond what you can today. and working side by side with Jesus Christ to establish the Kingdom of God - first in all the earth and then throughout the universe. Can you see what God has in mind for us? It is wonderful to look forward to having everlasting life without the fear of sickness or pain, or fear of dying. John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto Nicodemus, Truly, truly, I say unto thee, Unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. The first time we were born it was as little babies in blood and water from our mother that was physical birth. God created mankind so that He could have spirit-born children that will become God as He is God. Before mankind ever existed, God developed this Plan to reproduce Himself. He desired to produce children that would be part of His family full-fledged members of the God family who share His traits of being composed of spirit, of being everlasting and being able to rule with Him in His Kingdom. The Bible clearly says that mankind was created to become spirit-born sons and daughters of God. God wants us to be able to look forward to a wonderful future as part of His spirit family. Romans 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he [the Father] that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [make alive raise from the dead] your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you. Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, [sonship is a better translation] whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: Romans 8:17 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. Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. This glory that shall be revealed in us is the same glory that Jesus Christ now has, as He sits at the right hand of God, ruling the universe. As joint heirs with Christ, we will share that great destiny. Today, we who are called by God and live our lives according to God s word are begotten sons and daughters of God. Begotten means that we are like children in the womb, waiting to be born. 5

6 The process of birth will occur at the resurrection. At that time, the begotten sons of God will be changed from a mortal, physical existence to a spiritual existence. This will happen when Christ returns, when the physical begotten sons of God rise out of their graves in the resurrection and are changed from physical into spiritual. 1Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 1Thessalonians 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Those who have God s Holy Spirit will receive everlasting life when Christ returns in the clouds. There will be a great resurrection of the dead in Christ at that time, and those who have lived God s way of life, who have believed God s Word and have lived it, will be changed into spirit beings. We are destined to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Romans 8:29 For whom He [the Father] did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. We will conform to the image of Jesus at our resurrection. Here the scripture refers to Jesus Christ as the firstborn of many brethren. Since Christ is the firstborn of many brethren, then we can see that the children of God are actually the very brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. When Christ was resurrected after His death, He became the firstborn Son of God. The other sons of God are going to be born in the same way when they are resurrected. We will be changed from physical existence to spiritual existence, just as Christ was. God wants to have many, many children. That s why He created humankind. In fact, He does not want any human being to lose out on becoming one of His sons or daughters. God is a God of peace and love. He isn t going to let people into His family unless they develop the same mind-set that He has. They can t be full of murderous or adulterous thoughts. We need to submit to Him and allow God to rule in our thoughts and actions. John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the Children of God. Received in the Greek is, lambano, and it means to take hold of, seize, to get hold of, or to grasp. It is not like receiving somebody at the door, or receiving a piece of mail, but it is receiving as in grabbing, holding on and embracing. As this scripture shows, to have the right to enter into the God-family and become children of God; and become a brother or sister of Jesus Christ we must receive Him. 6

7 Very, very few people are doing what is necessary for this to come about. Many are not working at fulfilling the requirements to be the children of God. There are requirements we do not just sit around and wait until we die. Frankly, brethren, we have had people in the Church of God who think that they have been called, and they will just sit around and wait until they die, and they will be in the Kingdom of God forever. Every minute that we are given is given to us for preparatory time, to get ready to be in the Kingdom of God. This means that we must begin to live by every word of God. We need to turn our life over to God and begin to reject all of your beliefs that are not upheld by your Bible the Word of God. Once we have repented and are baptized so that the blood of Jesus Christ washes away our sins, we will be on the road toward becoming a member of the God family. At the point of baptism, we became begotten children of God each of us a child of God in embryo, waiting to be born into the family of God. That s why we were born. God's people will become spirit-born sons and daughters of God. The apostle Peter in his second epistle explains to us that our very reason for existence is that we were born to be God spirit-born sons and daughters of God. Most of the world would reject that statement out of hand but the Scriptures are written to converted brethren not the world. Notice: 2Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ: 2Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 2Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 2Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, [the very nature of God] having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Only God has immortality, only God has what we would call eternal life, and only God has always existed. Since Jesus and the Father were together, and everything was hunky-dory and they were perfect, complete, all-wise and allknowing, then why did they make man? King David had the same question that we are thinking about right now. Psalm 8 shows that God was working with King David in giving him the same thoughts that we are thinking about today. I think that we understand a great deal in God s Church, not that we understand everything, that is to be understood. Psalm 8:1 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above [greater than] the heavens. Jesus is number one in the earth and the heavens. This is also saying that Jesus Christ is not confined to the earth. His realm is above the heavens. That is not our realm, at least not yet. I use those words not yet advisedly, and we will see why in a few minutes. 7

8 Psalm 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies David is saying that we start off in this world as little bitty helpless babes and sucklings, and we are totally dependent. But out of babes like that he is saying that God has ordained strength. Psalm 8:2 that thou might still [stop or halt] the enemy and the avenger. All the way to the enemy line, Satan himself, and that will be at the final atonement. 1Corinthians 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; Paul is saying that this is the way that God does things. God starts off with little babies, or the very weak, to put Satan in his place. God starts off small, but He is going to do great things with us. David continues: Psalm 8:3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What are the stars for? God ordained and established them for a purpose. Psalm 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visit him? Somehow it was revealed prophetically, to David, that Jesus Christ was going to come in the flesh. David would have known that Jesus walked with Abraham as Melchizedek, and the different times that Christ visited in the past. It is also a reference to the coming of Jesus Christ. David is asking, Why were we born? He is speaking of men with respect to the vast heavens that are so vast and so huge. What is the purpose of all of this creation, and what is the purpose of man why was he born? Psalm 8:5 For thou hast made him a little [while] lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. So David knows that man has some kind of tremendous future....a little [while] lower than the angels but God s Plan, as we shall see, is for man to be superior to the angels, as Sons of God. We as human beings, those who are children of God, Spirit-born sons of God, will be superior to the angels. Psalm 8:6 Thou made him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things [the universe] under his feet: David has just established that the faraway stars and galaxies billions of light years away, where ordained by God, and here he says man is going to be in charge of all things, and controlling them. Psalm 8:7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; David is out there keeping the sheep of his father, and he knows that he is of vastly more importance than the sheep. 8

9 Psalm 8:8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas. Psalm 8:9 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! David is saying that God s name and His workings and Plan are exceedingly high. We have all heard stories about the young man who started working as a mere clerk, or in the mail room, he works hard and he rises through the ranks of the corporation to become the President or Chief Executive Officer. We love success stories like that it is like a rags-to-riches story. But there is a principle in learning an operation in and out, from the bottom to the top, and they are very valuable lessons. God s plan is a lot like that. We start at the very bottom, as suckling babes, and yet we are ordained to have all things under our feet. It seems that almost every time a man builds a great company, and then passes it on to a son who hasn t worked for it, that the son does not perform to the height of expectation that his dad had for him. Quite often, the son of inheritance squanders the family wealth, and sometimes he ruins the family name in the process. God has us starting at the bottom, as the weak and of no reputation, and this is for the experience of overcoming, and the things that we learn along the way. Hebrews 2:8 Thou [Jesus Christ] 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. It has not happened yet that all things are within the control and power of man. That is for the future, when all things will be put under the dominance of men. Why would God be interested in creating man? For what purpose would God create man? Everything has a purpose. You and I would say that we believe that there is a great Creator God. If we do then we would grant that God has some idea of what He is doing, if He is that wise and that brilliant. An atheist would say that this is a bunch of nonsense. But the fact that there is a universe, tells me that something came from somewhere. Law comes only from a law-giver. Life comes only from the Creator of life. God has vast plans for His vast Creation! What are God s plans for this tremendous creation that He has made? What did God create this universe for? What was its use? When a carpenter or an architect build something they know what they are building, and what they are going to use it for. So, why do people of the world suppose that our Creator God has no purpose for His creation? What is the purpose of the far away stars? Some of them are so incredibly far away it is incomprehensible. Brethren, why were we born? What has God promised we would ultimately become? Science cannot discover why we were born, or understand that God is reproducing Himself, because science mostly wants to discount that there is a God at all, let alone that He is reproducing His Family. 9

10 There are very, very few people right now, who have any idea of what God is doing. The world s religions do not know it, or teach it, and that is because they do not understand it. Hebrews 2:5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. The future is not going to be left to the angels, it is going to be for the Children of God. We were born to be in the God family, having power and life. We will be given jurisdiction over the entire universe. Our future is not going to be limited just to this earth. Brethren, we are all God s creation. Jesus will return soon to establish and set up the Kingdom of God. The Church of God knows this, but this information has been lost, suppressed, and hidden on purpose. What is the veil that has been pulled over everyone s eyes? Isaiah 25:7 And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. Sometimes, we in the Church of God suffer from a lack of understanding, and comprehension, about the Kingdom of God. Sometimes we look on it with too much of a physical focus. We have the Feast coming up and we talk about the lion, lamb and little child, and how there will be peace, and the nature of the animals is going to be changed. There will be beautiful millennial farms, and everybody will have his own fig tree, and it is going to be really nice. But the Kingdom of God is a whole lot about us, as Spirit-born children of God, helping others into the Family of God. This is what we are going to be doing in the Millennium. We should have a picture in our minds of us being spirit, like Jesus. We will be the family of God, and we will be part of that loving close relationship with God. We will be helping others to come into the family of God, as the Father and Jesus Christ are reproducing themselves. God knew from the beginning that He would have eternal sons and daughters. He said from the very beginning that They [the Father and Jesus Christ] were going to replicate themselves, duplicate Themselves. We are going to reproduce ourselves, God said. God wanted to share Their love. He wants the universe to be filled with the teachings of the true God and the love of the true God. That kind of happiness, joy and peace will fill the universe. Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase [growing and growing] of His government [realm, empire, kingdom, domain] and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. This is wonderful and astounding news that we are going to be God, in the family of God. It will be a close family and you will not have to knock when you come in. The truth has been suppressed that we are the House of God. Brethren, if you believe this present evil world has anything to offer, and you can take God s way and put it on the back burner, you have not learned why we were born to be in the Kingdom of God. God has such tremendous plans for His children, but this world offers nothing. That is the purpose of all of God s creation, and man in it. 10

11 What is your concept of God Almighty, all-knowing, and all-loving? I tend to think of His throne as being magnificent, beautiful, powerful, and bright with the twenty-four elders, and all of the different kinds of angels all around it. God has wisdom, power, life-inherent, goodness, and so forth. When Scripture says make man in our image I think that we need to admit that we are not yet in the image of God. We are not made in the likeness, glory and brilliance of God yet. What does Jesus look like in His glory? I ask this question because we saw: 1John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the Children of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. Revelation 1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; Revelation 1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. Revelation 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shines in its strength. We shall be like Him This is giving us somewhat of a picture [of God], so we know that this is not wrong to try to conjure up this image of God because it is in the Word of God. Was as the sun shines in its strength we are talking 12 noon on a summer s day and looking straight up at that sun. It would burn your eyes out in a second. We are not made in that image of God yet. There is some yet to go. Our glory has not come yet. We are still in the flesh, and when we die we are still corrupt, and we are not yet in the likeness of God. 1Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; Something else is needed. God has created mankind to ultimately be in His family, or you might say to be His family. The message that Jesus Christ brought was part of the Good News, part of the gospel, and we human beings have been called, and in whose mind is the Spirit of God. We are destined to be the family of God. Jesus brought a message that we, mere mortal human beings, are destined to be in the Family of God. John, the beloved apostle, wrote it so clearly that even now because we have been called and we are being faithful we are already the Children of God. God s Word says, We shall be like Him. In closing brethren, Jesus Christ came preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God. And that good news includes the truth about how we were born to become everlasting Children of God in the family of God. End: Born to Be God 11