Then Paul would not have written what he wrote in Ephesians 1. And God did not contemplate. He willed. He determined. There is no contemplation.
With God to contemplate is to will and to will is to contemplate. He doesn't daydream. He says what He means and means what He says.
What Saul wrote in Ephesians and his other letters is to explain, discuss, share what his studies of the Old Testament was about in light of the Acts of the Holy Spirit taking place among Jewry. He writes to Jews helping them understand the New Covenant era Israel found herself in. And the New Covenant is a covenant between the God of Abraham and the House of Israel and the House of Judah. With these things taking place among the Jews why would he even write anything to uncircumcised, non-covenant, idol-worshiping non-Hebrew Gentiles? They're not in covenant with God.
Really? Where in the world did you get that idea? I thought you believed God was not the same of man, and was separate from the creation and all. Yet, you limit God as a man here. God is imperfect? Wow. That is quite the statement. It is not that God could not create a holy and righteous man, it is that He determined that He would make man innocent, with the ability to choose (though He determined the outcome), that He might redeem them and bring glory to Himself. That He could express the greatest love.
Because God created man sinful man has no free will. Man is in bondage to sin. That is the whole reason why Christ had to come and bind the strong man so He can take his possessions. A good read is "Bondage of the Will" by Martin Luther. Check it out.
Isaiah says, "there is only ONE God, there is NONE like Him, and He gives His glory to NO ONE." God cann ot reduplicate Himself in Himself. The only way man can be created is sinful and fallen short of God's glory. The word for that is "sin." Sinlessness, Holiness, Righteousness, Pure, these are God's Nature and Attributes and He cannot reduplicate Himself in Himself nor can He create a being that possesses all His Nature and Attributes. It is impossible. But create heaven and earth, time and space, and He can create man except man will be sinful.
See this is where you show that you aren't paying attention to scripture. Pauls speaks of the third heaven. Did God create that? (I am being sarcastic with this pettiness.)
In creation there is only two heavens. Third heaven is not a place, but a Person. There is only ONE God, there is NONE like Him, and He gives His glory to NO ONE. That's what Isaiah says and I believe him. Why don't you?
That is not true. Again, God, through Paul (the Bible is inspired) said that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. While we were yet in our trespasses and sins. Again, the unfolding of God's plan, and the fulfilling of God's plan is TEMPORAL, because WE are TEMPORAL. We have to live it. Again, if you are right, then Jesus died a needless death. Why would God do that?
Who are the "us"? They are Israel - the Jews. Christ died in accordance with the Law of Moses. WHO is under the Law of Moses? Israel or Gentiles?
Um... no. I do. You fail to accept it. Eternal and temporal. They are separate. There is also God's perspective, and OUR perspective. His is eternal, ours is temporal.
I know that. And Scripture contains both perspectives to discern.
You just denied what God says He did. You are again, telling God that He didn't do what He said He did.
Genesis 1
26 Then God said, “[ai]Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and [aj]let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
The image of God is not Adam. God is not of the earth, earthy. God is the LORD from heaven. The image of God is Christ. When we are born-again we are being conformed into the image of Christ, NOT Adam. Christ is the spittin' image of God and God looked forward in time to the day when Christ is set loose upon His people and these "Christians" (or, little Christ's) are being conformed into the image of Christ, NOT Adam.
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: Colossians 1:15.
I suggest you spend some quality time under the anointing and study this. Adam is not the image of God, Christ is.
There is no better image of a Father than a Son and Christ 'fits' that image perfectly, not fallen, sinful man.
It is right there. God is very clear. The biggest debate is what God meant by "image of God". We don't look like God because God is Spirit and we are flesh. However, we do have the capability to think, the capability to reason, etc. All things God can do that animals cannot do. So we have attributes of God's nature at a lesser degree. God can create from nothing, we can make things from what is available. God is sovereign over all creation, Adam was given dominion over creation. (here mentioned as all livign things. Satan took that when Adam sinned. However, notice how Adam was not given dominion over humanity. As such, Satan is going in with the sons/daughters of God to ask permission to torment Job, to which God said, sure.
Man is in bondage to sin. There is NOTHING in fallen, sinful man that exudes the image of God. God is not fallen, sinful God so how can a fallen sinful man be in the image of God. Pay attention:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: Colossians 1:14–15.
The image of God is Christ, NOT Adam. We are being conformed into the image of Christ who is the image of God. Do you see how that works? Read and study First Corinthians 15. Saul makes the differences between Christ and Adam very clear in that chapter. Christ is the image of God, NOT Adam. You seem to have a man-centered theology you espouse. Believe me, fallen, sinful, man is NOT the image of God: Christ is.
You are making a mistake here. Adam was made in the image of God. Genesis 1 and God is clear. He actually says "Let us make man in our image", and then says (since God may have written Genesis, or perhaps Adam) that that is what He did. Jesus IS God, so there is no issue here. Adam represents the flesh, and Jesus represents the Spirit. Just as Abraham on his own represents the flesh, but Isaac represents the Spirit. That is why covenant Israel that sees itself as descendants of Abraham are lost, while those who are descendants of Abraham through Isaac, are of the Spirit and are blessed. Those who live under the law will die by the law, but those who live by faith in Christ are saved.
As I said, God looked forward in time to the day when man becomes born-again of the Spirit and they become conformed into the image of Christ. THAT is who God was prophesying about when He said, "Let us make the NEW man in our image." Certainly, fallen, sinful, tainted man of the earth, earthy, is NOT the image of God.
Yes, your God is weak. Were angels created in time/space? You do understand that the creation was determined, right? You also know that God is sovereign and all powerful (within the realm of logic). God can create whatever He wants that can continue eternally, however, only God is eternal. That is, everything else has a beginning. Angels were created, so they had a beginning. Satan was created, so He had a beginning. Jesus created, and nothing was created without Him, so He is eternal. (It helps that He is God, so the previous was so unnecessary.)
The angels were created in our realm, before man was created. Some had a ministry on earth, and some had a ministry before God. Cherubs guard earthly holy things and Seraphim's guard heavenly holy things. God cannot reduplicate Himself in Himself. Eternalness is the Nature of God. It is His Attribute and as Isaiah says, "There is only ONE God, there is NONE like Him, and He gives His glory (Eternalness, Holiness, Sinlessness, etc.), to NO ONE."
God cannot reduplicate Himself in Himself. THAT is impossible. You need to study these existential questions before you post on the Internet and show your ignorance of the things of God. Jesus had a beginning, too, or didn't you know that? The Eternal Spirit is Christ, but Jesus the man had a beginning. You should study the doctrine of the Hypostatic Union. There's a reason why Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega, beginning and end.
Peter wrote to everybody. There was the audience of his time, and the audience of the future. One has to understand it as to the audience at the time, which are elect believers. It doesn't matter for much of what he wrote as to whether Jew or Gentile, because a lot/most of his message is universal. That is, it doesn't pertain to a specific people other than believers. That is why we can read what he wrote and understand it. It may not affect everyone, but it has meaning that can be understood by everyone. For instance, don't believe anyone who says that Jesus has already come. That is applicable to everyone. No one should believe them. What you don't seem to understand is that these letters were shared amongst most/all the churches. That was one of the standards used to include letters in the Bible we have today. Was it widespread, and was it accepted by those it was addressed to as actually being written by the author mentioned. There were a lot of books left out because they weren't widespread, or they proved that they were forgeries, or not written by the person claimed in the book.
The Old Testament Hebrew Scripture of Law, Psalms, and Prophets was written through the Spirit overshadowing God's prophets and they all were Hebrew men who wrote to the Hebrew people. Nothing is changed when Israel enters the New Covenant era. The apostles of whom we have their letters wrote to Jews to help them understand the New Covenant and the New Covenant era Israel overnight found herself in. The New Covenant is THEIR covenant. Someone had to look into the Old Testament text and interpret what was written and prophesied about the New Covenant between God and the House of Israel and the House of Judah so they would not be ignorant - as Saul says repeatedly - in his letters to Jews and Jewish Christians who became born-again. Being a rabbi and Pharisee who knew the Old Testament "above many mine equals" Saul was eminently qualified to explain the New Covenant to the House of Israel and the House of Judah. Jesus did the same thing when He was on the planet:
25 Then he said unto them,
O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
26
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
27 And
beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Luke 24:25–27.
Don't be a fool. We have Moses and the Prophets. Moses spoke most about "the Prophet like unto Moses." One cannot become a Christian without that knowledge that's contained in the Law and the Prophets.
In writing to the Jews in Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, etc., Saul is very clear in his letter to Jews in the Galatian region this:
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore
the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Galatians 3:23–24.
Saul is clearly writing to Jews. They were the only ones under the Law.
We almost didn't have the book of James because Martin Luther didn't like it. Why? He didn't understand it. James point on works and faith is that one can say they have faith... now prove it. The works validate the faith because the works come from faith. He is not calling for a works based salvation, but a salvation based in grounded, living faith. It is one thing to say you believe in something, it is another to actually believe in it. As James says, you say you believe in God. You do good. The demons also believe... and shudder. What's the difference? The demons have the appropriate reaction. So many people say they believe in God, but when you look how they act, and without proper fear. No fear behind their eyes. Like you. You don't measure what you say about God, and you get responses like "REPENT". You do great disservice to God in your words. And there isn't a modicum of fear in you when you say it. Not a modicum of respect for God.
Works and faith are terms Jews were familiar with. They had the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets and they looked into these things except without the Holy Spirit of Promise PROMISED TO ISRAEL (Joel), they could only understand the letter of the Law and not the spirit of the Law.
"Demons" are only attitudes. One can have a good attitude or an evil attitude and Christ dealt with both. Our attitudes are important to our walk. Attitudes are powerful. You can't see them but you can "feel" them. I suggest you study these things because all you're doing is giving me textbook responses. Get a clue: the gift of discernment of spirits can discern only three "spirits."
1. the spirit of angels
2. the spirit of man
3. the Spirit of God.
There is no such thing as "demons" in the creative narrative. It is all tied up in "goat-worship." The Old Testament says a few things about this "goat-worshiping" attitude. The concept of "goat-worshipers" in Hebrew theology is not a positive one, but rather a warning against a specific form of pagan idolatry that involved sacrificing to
se'irim, or "goat demons." This ancient practice, and the broader symbolism of goats in relation to the wilderness and rebellion, laid the groundwork for the later, more defined Christian and occultic depictions of Satan as a goat-like figure (e.g., Baphomet). In Jewish tradition, however, the goat primarily serves as a symbol of unholy forces and foreign worship that must be rejected in favor of the worship of one God. In the NT Jesus comments about separating His sheep from the goats/goat-worshipers.
I used to believe in those false Constantinian Gentile theologies that you get from Gentile theology books. There came a point in my life whereas a child I believed in childish things as demons you believe in. But when I became a man (of God) I put away those childish things. You should pray God for the anointing to study His Word. But maybe your "measure of faith" is limited and you're not meant to certain knowledge of the things of God. I on the other hand and in conjunction with my spiritual gifts God saw it necessary for me to know things that are founded on Scripture and not upon Gentile theologies. There is still a great many things I don't know and there are things I do know, and demons is one of those things I do know. Before Christ dealt with "demon"-possessed people He had to subdue their attitudes. And our attitudes, or "spirits" are important to our worship. In creation there are only angel and man. There is no such thing as "demons" as a beings God created.
