Proverbs by Papi

And God spoke all these words saying…. Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

These words, beloved, were first uttered by the voice of the Lord God Almighty from the fiery mount called Sinai. It was God himself that spoke these words! Of course, when the Israelites heard the voice of God they ask Moses to speak to them from that time on. And it was so … Moses became the spokesman for God; as did all the proph­ets, diversely, until the coming of the Christ in the flesh of one called Jesus of Nazareth.

So then these words of instruction ─ Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother ─ were issued directly from the heart of God, and nes­tled firmly amid what many have accustomed themselves to call the Decalogue, or THE TEN-COM­MANDMENTS.

The King of Israel rehearsed in psalm ─ all his commandments are sure. We have seen multitudinous efforts to elaborate on many of the commandments, but personally have neither observed nor heard any who have approached the subject of the fifth com­mandment lawfully. We say lawfully, in that he that strives for the mastery of his calling must strive lawfully. We are commanded to rightly divide the word of truth, and in that lawful division we are to fully expose what truth is, which in turn is to set us free. To be set free, or to experience spiritual freedom, is partially attained upon hearing what truth is; its completion is in doing what truth is.

Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Now who is the Son? He is the word, of course. Remember, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. The word was then made flesh and dwelt among us as the only begotten of the Father. It is the word of truth, rightly divided, and set before the people of God for their consump­tion as manna from heaven that produces life within them and not death. Whom the Word sets free is free indeed. Too many novice teachers who desire to teach the law, but neither under­stand the things they desire to teach, nor whereof they affirm their teaching to be, have caused many to stumble at the command­ments of the Lord.

It is far too often that we hear “Honor Thy Father” or “Honor Thy Mother” in a negative sense. The usage of these holy and divine words in dissenting fashion is an abomina­tion to all who believe the com­mandments of God to be sure as well as pure. We hear folks say, “The Bible says to Honor your mother and your father.” Most generally it is coupled with the addition­al words to the following effect: “She’s your mother … the only one you will ever have.” You perhaps know what comes after because we are relatively sure you have heard precisely that to which we make reference. Now honestly ask yourself a question. When you heard the state­ment, was it made to glorify God and to appropriate his infi­nite wisdom unto us coupled with ALL THE COMMANDMENTS that we might be set free from carnal bondage? Or was it only intend­ed as a measure of personal condemna­tion from the one who then spoke it? We submit the latter as being the rule and not the excep­tion.

Frequently, Honor thy father or thy mother is used by a third party to try and tear down active barriers between a parent and a child. No matter what the barriers are, no matter how they got there, no matter how much pain is involved; these would-be do-gooders ignorantly press forward. Without resolution, exami­nation, or explanation, they would have you completely exonerate error. They would have you press forward with never a righteous focus upon condem­nation, which is divinely designed to produce repentance and ultimately forgiveness.

The law, or Torah, or teaching was brought forth in righteousness to righteously condemn sin. The Apostle Paul told the Romans for by the law is the knowl­edge of sin. Just as Paul stated that he did not know that covetous­ness was contrary to God except the law had revealed it, all sin is defined by the law and identified as being contrary to God. This is why the law was brought forth by the prophet Moses. To condemn you as a sinner, and to convince you that ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God is the intentional “will of God” process activated by the law. But wait ─ here is the good news! Mercy and grace, which allows for the forgiveness or remission of those sins, came by Jesus Christ. So then we no longer have to be under condem­nation but it is a fact of scripture, and therefore the will of God that we are to be first exposed to the condemnation.

Now this condemnation of which we speak was contained in that which fol­lowed these words: And God spoke all these words. It is contrary to God for us to ever try and skirt the issue of sin in any situation no matter what the format. How then are the barriers of which we have spoken to be righteously removed when righteous­ness is not the motive of the worker? The answer is they cannot. Further­more, those who submit to the lesser light teaching only become two-fold more the child of hell, and are become known as the blind following the blind. The children of the day are taught by the greater light which illuminates understanding in full measure.

Therefore the letter killeth but the Spirit giveth life. When the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit comes; He, as the Great Shepherd, guides all who are submitted as the sheep of his pasture into all truth. May we say, beloved, that this place of all truth is also the place of complete freedom, and is as well that place of perfect peace which surpass­es all natural understanding.

We are certain that many individuals, especially Christians, greatly desire to be able to obey all the commandments and to honor their parents as God intend­ed it to be. Just how do we honor our parents? What does the rightly divided word of truth expose unto our spiritual understanding that may enable us to do as Christ, and do always the things that please the Father? Let us examine the origin of a certain word or two, and perhaps the depth meaning of the inten­tion of God will illuminate your spirit.

Kabad!

Kabad is precisely what Moses re­corded that God said. Kabad thy father and thy mother! Of course, this Hebrew word has no meaning to you except it be trans­lated into our native Eng­lish. The word means to be heavy, be weighty, to be grievous, to be hard, and to be honored! This definition makes it sound extremely SOLID. In fact this solidity is equivalent to the very essence of God’s name in existence. That name of God often referred to as Yahweh and even Jehovah is translated as meaning “the existing one.” When that particular name LORD is written in Hebrew it is (יהוה) and it has the same numerical value of (כּבד) which is how you spell Kabad. Assigning numerical value to words is called gematria; in its usage when two words have the same numerical value they are unequivocally equal.

Something unique­ly apparent concerning this word Kabad is, however, lost in its broadest sense of translation. The English language simply transpos­es this word into a single word which is honor. Now we will not take the space to print the definition of the word honor, but we do encourage you to get a dictionary and read the entire descriptive­ness that we associate with the word honor in an English speaking society. All that we associate with the word honor is in the positive, and that in the strictest sense. This, however, is not the case with the Hebrew word which we are now examining for depth meaning.

The word kabad is a word that has the unique quality of being both negative and positive in its allowed usage. This was shown somewhat in the above brief definition. Some may ask how this can be possible. We will ask of you much like Jesus asked of those who were questioning his authority. Answer me first, and I will answer your question. How is it that God was able to issue the word out of his mouth and call it life and death? How is it that the book that John was command­ed to eat was both bitter and sweet? How is it that the word tells us that there is something happening in the earth that is both wonderful and terrible? Now the list goes on … but we ask you again, how can the word honor be justly used in a negative and a positive sense?

In the negative or bad sense, kabad, can mean to be burden­some, severe, or dull; whereas in the positive or good sense it can mean rich, hon­orable, or glori­fied. The word in actuality is a primitive root word which is first understood to render: to be heavy. When we examine the motive or intent of to be heavy, we see just how serious we are expected to take the fifth com­mand­ment. God is against a partiality of his law and against a false balance. He opposes the lukewarm­ness of carnal compla­cency and warns against the hazards of having a double mind. Any halfhearted attempt to please him in anything less than the faith which his word produces is rejected as error and evidenced as self-will.

So then God wills [by commandment] that we solidly, or with heavy affirmation, make our relationship, with not only our parents but with one another as well, one of deep rooted honesty ─ whether good or bad.

When our relation­ships are built upon honesty and they are justly evaluated in truth, then there is no place for pretense to hide. Pretense is only another form of deception. It masquer­ades as love or honor when in reality it is only despite or annoy­ance; terms which more amply describe it. True love or genuine honor has no pretense or guile associated with it. It instead has come through the righteous fires of purifica­tion kindled by the word of Al­mighty God and stands tested and ready for instant appropriation.

Before continuing in the above discourse, let us examine the word used for honor in the New Testament. The very specific translation into the Greek, of what Jesus said concerning the commandment of Honor thy father and thy mother uses the word timaw which as you may presume means honor. We however, find that timaw literally means: “to estimate” or “to fix a value.”

When we now [by New Testament ─ adding precept upon precept – by First Testament] refer to the word honor, in relationship to our parents, then we are expected to place a value upon them. Jesus made reference to the fifth command­ment four times, as it is recorded in the gos­pel, and so he must have placed great or heavy emphasis upon its impor­tance. If I ask an individual to honor your father, in one sense I am saying place a value upon your dad. One might say, “Well … he is worth a million dollars!” No … that’s not the meaning of the word timaw at all. The million dollars is perhaps what he is worth in the world by worldly standards. But what is he worth to you? “Well, if he dies ─ he is worth a million dollars to me less taxes.” That’s not it either.

Many languages of the world, of which Greek is obviously one, have words which have very narrow and specific appli­cation. The word timaw me­ans to fix the value of something belong­ing primarily to one’s self. Now the usage becomes more clearly defined. What is the honor (or value) you alone bestow upon your father? Not to your neighbor, not even to your own natural brother or sister. The honor that one bestows upon his father is uniquely his own evaluation. When that evaluation is tempered and expressed in Christ it is therefore proper and just. In Christ means it is anointed, set aside as holy, and acceptable to God.

My father was my life giver, without him I would not be here today. My father was my friend, he was my counselor, my teacher. He was my provider, he was my protector … in due time I came to know him as my hero. You see friends … the value of your father is understood only by you. The same goes for your mother. I never really understood the value that was “fixed” on either of my parents until I was asked to accept and keep this fifth commandment as a part of my teaching.

Let’s examine the other side of the coin so to speak. Without question there are multitudes of individuals who have never had a relationship with their father nearly as great as some of us have had. There are also those people who have never known their father. Some fathers abandon their children. No matter what the reason, the truth remains, and these occur­rences make for poor relation­ships. When one has never known his father to be a provider or a counsel­or, then he can never honor him with that value in their rela­tionship. The same holds true in every single aspect of their affiliation one with another.

Come on folks ─ be honest ─ and give credit where credit is due. The word urges us to give honor to whom honor is due. There are millions of fathers who cannot be honored for being good providers for their chil­dren. There are millions of mothers who can never be honored for being Sarah-like-minded homemakers. Perhaps a father is a good instructor, teaching the trade in which he labors to his son, but due to his being an alcoholic he may be physically and mentally abusive, and therefore lacks credit as an instructor of moral value. A mother may be a superb cook, and religiously pass those culinary skills on to her daughter, but perhaps due to a dependency on drugs she may also prostitute herself to support the habit. Needless to say, the scenarios imagined above, of undisciplined and immoral behavior cannot be assigned with very high “fixation of value.”

When there is sin in the camp God will not bless the campers. So then, when progeny is expected to camp in such an environ­ment as described above, and even worse; where can the place of love, and support, and proper influence be found? A child cannot honor a mother for being a liar, nor can that child honor a father for being a thief. So then this does not mean that those parents should have no value in the sight of their children, it simply means that some of that value (honor) may justly become negative in its initial evalua­tion.

The initial evaluation, when compared with the re­quirements of God, places the element of truth square­ly within reach of all parties con­cerned. This makes for the relationship of which we have spoken to be one of honesty. In such case, any barriers that may be blocking the unity of the relationship may be dealt with justly and honestly. The operative word then, at that point, becomes forgive­ness. If an individual cannot just outright forgive another’s transgression; then the word of the Lord instructs those with reservation to rebuke their brother if he offends, and to forgive their brother if he repents.

The same honorable prescription is appropriated in all rela­tion­ships, including one of the hardest to solidify which is between parent and child. The case with offended child is accomplished with that same just and honest conversation.

There is set forth in scripture a Godly precept of separation, not to be violated, which we as believers must understand when the word of God is truly our guide. This time of intermit­tent separation required of believers is under­stood and appropriated in all relationships; albeit, certain separations await the inevitable permission that is wisely guarded by proper timing. We separate ourselves from evil doers. We abstain from the very appear­ance of evil. When a man marries a wife, he is commanded to leave or separate himself from his mother and father and cling to his wife. Certainly when a man is born again ─ into the heavenly kingdom ─ with a renewed relation­ship with his heav­enly Father, then he is to separate himself from the entire worldly system. Except a man leave or forsake mother, father, sis­ter, brother, houses, farms, and on the list runs; he is said not to be fit for the kingdom of God.

This time of separation becomes so pronounced at times in the lives of many believers that they are commanded to let the dead bury the dead. Separation from natural allegiance unto spiritual faithfulness is sometimes painful when carnally assessed. Spiritually minded obedience to God’s word produces the promise of liberty in being set free.

To be in obedience unto one’s father is certainly in line with the commandment to honor him. After all, the sin of disobedi­ence was the cause of the first man Adam having to depart the Garden of God. It was disobedience that cost Saul his kingdom and his life. God requires us to obey our natural fathers as a measure of practice that we might learn the precept of obeying our heavenly Father. Children obey your parents in all things for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

Do you believe the above reference to be the concrete word of the Lord?

Many of you automati­cally respond in the affirmative as you zero in on “obey” and “all things.” This is a hypocritical approach; with an absolute arrogance, never considering the rightly divided word that is there embedded to promote life and liberty, and not sin and death. Context of scripture should always prioritize its usage. Obedience should always be first in consideration to God and not to man. Not to man specifically includes our earthly father; as the scriptures amply promote allegiance to God first and foremost, and then to the man that has learned the discipline of God teaching or Torah.

What if a parent told a youngster to commit murder? To rob or to steal, to pillage or to disrupt at every opportunity; are these admirable instructions to honor and obey? Certainly not! These things echo satanic ritual. Any reason­ably intelli­gent being would under­stand them to be appalling advice and barbaric tutela­ge. If the courts of most lands would convict and dishonor these prac­tices as hereti­cal; those who are ever learning and never able to come to the knowl­edge of the truth that would demand from the offspring that they continue to honor that which is obviously dishonor­able is appalling! At a certain point in the life of all children they understand, by God given talent, the difference between right and wrong. It is precisely and specifically the things that come out of a man’s mouth that either justify or con­demn him.

How have the words of your father or your mother lined up with THUS SAITH THE LORD? Give honor to whom honor is due, and therefore Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother; it’s a com­mandment from God. But beloved, let the honor be honest and the resulting love will be real. Above all, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before the Al­mighty and forgiving God. He has prom­ised that your days would be long and prosper­ously lived in a land of divine promise should you obey his commandment to love one another even as he has loved us.

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This composition thus far was intended to help believ­ers and non-believers honestly develop an understand­ing of the commandment to

Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother.

The fifth commandment is set forth as positive instruction from our Creator and Savior; it is neither delivered to be grievous nor burden­some. It is, however, to be understood ─ when it is embraced in Christ, its yoke is easy, and its burden light. Love covers a multitude of sin.

Since we have ministered on the subject of the fifth command­ment in somewhat greater detail, the following is an addition written at the urging of a part of the Lord’s congrega­tion.

• The term “Depth Meaning” was a personal coinage from the mid 80’s; I will leave it in place in the following portions, however, I may or may not add to this essay at the end. I have come to recognize my coinage as an approach to a Kabbalistic term known as “sod” which means secret. Its first letter is the last part of an acronymic term known as “pardes” consisting of the first letter of four separate words used to make one special word. It means “orchard.”

• This composition, offered now as an essay, was originally written in 1994 and distributed as a booklet in my earlier ministry. As you may presently ascertain there was extensive attention to the terminology of “born again.” The very two words of this expression promotes its own level of infancy, in an unintended pretentiousness, as it must mature and pursue the “sod” mystery which involves endless volumes of both spoken and unspoken, written and unwritten – WORDS to study.

• When you reach the end of this writing you will discover that I decided not to elaborate upon the deeper mystery pertaining to “father and “mother.” Suffice it to say that these terms are referred to as “abba” and “imma” in that esoteric venturesome realm and so they will be addressed in another essay or two. Thanks for reading this old one.     Papi

THE DEPTH MEANING

When scripture speaks of the milk and of the meat concerning the word of the Lord, then there is obviously a deeper understanding implied unto all scripture which lies inoffensively in latency until its dis­covery. Acknowledgeably we submit once the discovery is made, oftentimes, its latent state suddenly arouses the truth and effects it to an offensive posture. It is simply misunderstood.

The meat of the word of the Lord, howev­er, belongs exclusive­ly to the full-aged believer, who by reason of use has put away childish thinking. Many babes in Christ will choke on the deeper or offensive measure of truth because it requires them to denounce the flesh and embrace the Spirit. We have come to call that deeper spiritual under­standing the “depth mean­ing;” wherein deep calls to deep.

We are told that the invisible things of God are clearly under­stood and seen by the things that are visible about us. So then there must be a greater revelation or spiritual enlightenment available unto us when we understand and practice the words of the fifth com­mand­ment, as well as all scrip­ture.

We have already mentioned the fact that by honoring our natural father, we are in fact learning by measure how to honor our Heav­enly Father. Let’s carefully examine the words once again in light of comprehending the fact that we as true believers indeed have a Father in heaven.

H O N O R  T H Y  F A T H E R….

These words are expressly uttered by way of command­ment, in the context of Father teaching Son that we might learn to develop and maintain a genuine relation­ship with our Heavenly Father.

Since there are no directly negative attributes in God, as understood by the righteous, then our relationship with God should be one of complete positiveness. Our value or honor to God should be the ultimate award of our faith accord­ing to our understanding and affection. There should be no limitation to our minds in placing the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ supreme. In carrying out our rea­sonable service unto the Father we will inevitably come to proclaim his worthiness to be praised. After all, in reaching the heavenly heights of revela­tion surrounding the throne of God, John, after hearing “worthy is the Lamb,“ then said all of creation “heard I saying, Bless­ing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.”

Our reasonable service unto God is to offer our bodies a living sacrifice unto him acceptably pure in holi­ness through that renewed mind, which is solely obtained in Christ. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus ─ he did always the things that pleased the Father. That is to say he honored the Father.

We understand there are many invisible forces coursing and lodging within the mind which can ultimately rule the body. Every bodily function has its origin in the mind, whether the function be for purposes good or evil, voluntary or involun­tary, is irrelevant. So then it is within the mind in which our journey must begin unto the throne to where John was allowed to come. When we arrive at the throne; we must expect to see “ONE” upon the throne. In this expectation or hope, and in bringing unto him our offering of praise, or honor, we will find our­selves richly rewarded.

The reason some individuals don’t praise God is because they have never learned the com­mandment to Honor Thy Father. They have never placed God supreme in their lives, nor do they recognize his authority, his power, his dominion, his kingdom, his creation, or his will. The word of the Eternal Living God has no place in their mind. Why? Because the love of the Father has been supplanted by the love of this world. And we understand the latter to be an abandon to seek willful and carnal lusts. When any particular lust is conceived it brings forth the death whereby all men have been ap­pointed unto once.

The first man Adam, the living soul, the breathing creature, has been made subject to vanity. This vainglory or pride is merely conceit of self. The express and unchecked ego one might posture. Isn’t it ironic that the dressing table, where the flesh is pampered so by self, is called the vanity? Nonethe­less, when self-rule is the preeminent agenda within one’s mind, the end thereof is the death. For to be carnal­ly minded is to surely experience death, but to be spiritu­ally minded is in itself the very implementation of the recovery unto life and peace, and that eternal and complete.

So then it is in the mind in which our repair and reconciliatory process unto the Eternal’s favor begins. When we learn that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his command­ments, we must go the final step of acting out the faith which the word of the Lord has produced within the mind, which now processes informa­tion spiritually. “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” We must therefore act upon the word of the Lord, it MUST be the guide­line by which our actions are motivated. Self-rule should not even take a back seat posture ─ it should be complete­ly annihi­lated. This brings one full circle unto his first love which is obedience unto the Lord. We then find ourselves in favor with the Heavenly Father who knows how to give good gifts much greater than our natural father because love is at the very essence of His being.

We find recorded in the Book of Job these pro­found words highlighted below. They help delineate the first man Adam’s plight in his life as a breathing creature. “Man that is born of woman is of few days, and full of trou­ble.” The life span of the first man Adam (of which generation we are all a part) is one of bound­aries that he cannot cross; all of which are appointed by the sovereign­ty of the Almighty. His days are numbered, and the time, opportuni­ty, and the know-­how to make his life meaningful is hindered constantly, by an unseen enemy bent upon keeping him ignorant and confused, unto the grave and beyond.

How can one fight an unseen enemy? The simple answer which confounds the wisdom of natural thought is that you contend with the invisible in the invisible. This invisible realm of warfare is where faith abounds and where we become more than conquerors through Christ who streng­thens us. That strength is the life of all men, being the very light within Christ, which produces faith of the hope that is set before us by the word of the Lord. When the word is made to dwell in flesh (Christ in you the hope of glory) and stirs to victory then sin in the flesh is de­stroyed through that indwelling abode, and the ever directive counsel of the Lord garners holiness unto its center, wherein is life.

Through ignorance the first man Adam per­ishes because he will not receive the love of the truth that he might be saved. It is the under­standing or light brought by the Lord Jesus Christ that sets a man free from the dilemma once expressed by Job. Since we have all been born of woman, and inad­vertently partake of the curse first pro­nounced prior to expulsion from the Garden; we are equally doomed except God himself make an exception to the rule thereof. Praise be to God forevermore! By grace are ye saved! For grace is provided in exchange for obedience in learning and doing.

The exception to the rule which makes no sense to the carnal evalua­tion is grace. Because of the foreknow­ledge determining His own good pleasure, our Creator, by His divine mercies, has also made himself to be our Savior. Jesus has brought the understand­ing to those who would seek the understand­ing; even as Nicodemus. The carnal mind of Nicodemus could not reconcile his eternal presence in the kingdom of God to be contingent upon the rebirth.

Jesus said, “Ye must be born again.”

The birth, or as we say the rebirth, was not to be that from the womb of the woman wherein lay the curse; it was the birth appoint­ed by the Father. The birth not by the will of man, but by the will of the Heaven­ly Father.

Honor Thy Father…. Now if a man has been born again, which is to say born from above or by the will of the Father, he now has a new life and a new Father. The carnal mind can argue the point of the flesh, and the relationships of the flesh, until the requirements of judgment day be completed, and the fact is, the new creature born of God has a new Father and a new life.

The new creature is now part of a new family; he has new brothers, new sis­ters ─ and yes a new mother, the fact of which we shall explore presently. My point in part is this: having escaped the bound­aries of the beggarly elements of this earth, why would any seek to remain as the first man Adam living only until his last breath; would it not make sense to claim the inheritance provided for by the last man Adam who was a quickening Spirit? Beloved saints of God, being born of God makes you a Son of God! Are you still tied to your carnal roots and relation­ships of the flesh, wherein dust returns to dust, or are you set free by the truth and the knowledge of the Son ─ as a son? The redemption of the heart, the mind, the body, and the soul’s renewal in order to merit life in the world to come, is the right of passage as a son.

“As he is in this world so are we.”

So then as living sons of the living God, the commandment of the Father says, Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. The promise of eternal life is suggested [by precept] in the portion of LONG DAYS. The kingdom of God is suggested in the portion of THE LAND WHICH THE LORD GIVETH. Are we not heirs to God and joint heirs with Christ? What land he gives is obviously to be understood to be the kingdom of God as it stretches outward from the center of Israel into all this world and the world to come.

As we seek to please the Father by honoring him in obedience to his word, the Father seeks to reward our trust in him with good and perfect gifts from above, which can be understood to be a part of that born again (from above) experi­ence. We can now by faith in the Father’s word honor him in fabulous and multitudinous ways. As the Father, to whom honor is due: He is life giver, provider, counselor, teacher, comforter, and the friend who remains closer than a brother. He becomes our strength and our fortress, our creator and our Savior. Truly to give honor to whom honor is due should be no problem when considering what our Heaven­ly Father has given to us.

As limitless as God is in purity and in righteousness, so should our list of honorable attributes unto Him thereunto extend. The command­ment to Honor Thy Father should of a certainty, through practice, lead us to the hidden depth meaning therein, as we discover the precious truth that it is indeed the Heav­enly Father to whom this honor is ultimate­ly intended to be appropriated.

NEW MOTHER?

We have previously made the statement that the indi­vidual who is born again also has a new mother to honor. Inasmuch as that individual is part of a new family, there must of necessity be a new mother.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. These are of course what Jesus said. Now God is a spirit and therefore God begets spirit as offspring. We might say it in this fashion as well ─ God begets god. The Spirit that brought forth the spirit (or new birth in the above scripture) was actually capitalized in our translated copies. The spirit born of the Spirit is now even as Christ, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God. We are command­ed by scripture of the new testa­ment which is said to be recorded in the blood of the Lamb of God to let the same mind that was in Christ be also in us. That is to say, we should think precisely as Christ thought. So then we are equal with Christ as Chris­tians walking in the light as he is in the light, and we therefore are equal with God in the sense that we are new creatures brought forth in the image of God himself. This image is to be construed as the second man Adam.

Be­loved, please recall the scriptural teach­ing which tells us that God created man in his own image. In the image of God man was created. Image wise and by the name of that image; this also means that the capital­ized God has adopted the lower cased gods as his sons, and joint heirs with Christ.

Now to settle the doctrine with scripture: Jesus said, Ye are Gods!

When certain of the Jews then present were actively engaged in mental preparation that they might find cause to stone Jesus, he asked them “… for what good work do you stone me?” Their answer was that it was not for a good work but for the fact that Jesus, being a man, had made himself equal with God. This account is recorded in the 10th chapter of John’s Gospel.

Jesus answered them, is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? John 10:34

Let’s now examine what Jesus said. If he said it was written in the law then obvi­ously the same witness to truth must be recorded somewhere in the First Testament writings ─ correct? Try reading the 82nd Psalm.

Now here is an astonishing fact that few scholars of scripture glean in their study to show themselves approved unto God. Jesus said, “I SAID”! Now of course he was presumably quoting verbatim. Nonetheless as he came to fulfill the teaching and not to destroy it, just exactly who did that make the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both Lord and Christ? Was he justified is making himself God? In the following scripture, although it says God and not Jesus, Paul the Apostle tell us he was.

And without controversy great is the mystery of godli­ness: God was mani­fest in the flesh, justi­fied in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gen­tiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. I Timothy 3:15

The fullness of God, dwelt bodily in Christ; the fullness was of the Godhead knowledge, as in the crown, where coupled wisdom and understanding abides. As the Son of God he was privy to the knowledge of the Father of God. This knowledge is not shared with the servant; it is not shared with the steward, but only with the Son. Face to face – even as Moses received.

We have a publication entitled BODILY REDEMPTION which you may want to request. It deals with the sons or heirs as being no more than servants, until the time appointed of the Father, among other things of course.

So then we are NOW the sons of the living God with the knowledge of the new command­ment having a deeper measure of understanding, so that we may love even as we are loved. Some might ask what does that have to do with honoring the Father or the mother?

When asked on occasion by a certain unscru­pulous lawyer as to what is the greatest commandment, Jesus replied saying:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great command­ment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy­self”. Matthew 22:37─39

Beloved saints of God, God should no longer be in some far off abode, totally unap­proachable, hidden behind a vail, clouded in a pillar, or only voiced from a fire as in days of old. He is not in the desert as some would claim, and he is not in the secret chamber which very few know the location of. God’s abode is within man as a result of understanding the promise of the Holy Ghost. This is the promise of the Shekinah or the feminine presence of God delivered in the message of the Christ which is the anointed solidity. We gladly submit to this feminine role so that we might be the bride chosen. Headship is above and male; below is submissiveness and female. If God dwells with man, even as the name Emmanuel sug­gests, then our adornment of honor, presented from below to above, unto him must of necessity be brought unto his very dwelling place – from within.

What … know ye not, that ye are the temple of the Holy Ghost?

Jesus said, if you love me keep my com­mandments. He further promised that if you kept the commandments then the Father would also love you ─ AND ─ he would come and make his abode WITHIN you. So then the love and honor due unto God is due first and fore­most unto God who dwells within. Before you can send something off somewhere else you must first be in possession of it. In this case it is the possession of the honor of God. The Kabad – כּבד of יהוה as explained in the earlier portion of this treatise specifies this internal possession. Within – the honor of father and mother as male and female unites and the image is complete. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Why would Jesus say love your neighbor as yourself? Because beloved, when you love the God in you, you are loving the god also in whom the God dwells as the Spirit of the Father, and as Spirit of the Spirit (Holy Ghost) and as the Spirit of the Son.

Now if you have the Spirit of the Son dwelling within as well as the God of gods, then you are not only a son, but a god. This is why the second expression of love is unto others, because the first expression was unto self or to that within. When we say self here, we assume it is understood that it is no longer I that liveth but Christ that lives within me. For indeed, greater is he that is within me than he that is in the world. The scriptures tell us that inasmuch as we have freely received then we can freely give. When you truly love the Heavenly Father you have experi­enced his love within, and therefore you are fully equipped to love your neighbor as you love God, and as you love your­self. We are also reminded by the wisdom of scripture that the husband­man must be first partak­er of the fruits.

Beloved, we should have no problem in loving one another – provided we love the Father.

As to the final aspect of being the new creature with the new family we remind you that we are said to be brought unto Mt Zion. This is the place where is gathered an innumerable company of angels; it is the place of general assembly; the Church of the First­born; the place where the spirits of just men are made perfect. The body of Christ is a many membered body. The body of Christ has forsaken houses, farms, lands, mothers, fathers, brothers, and a host of other natural alle­giances that they might be accredited by faith their part as being a part of the generation of Christ; this is specifically pertaining to the Anointed – the Messiah.

Scripture asks a poignant and very specific question through Isaiah, “Who shall declare his generation?” Elsewhere Daniel stated that Messiah/ the Anointed/ the Christ was to be cut off from some in the midst of the week. Then John informs us of the generation of the man child from a certain symbolic woman who is to rule the nations with the rod of iron.

The word used above for generation is “dor.” It means: revolution of time. This pertains to a certain period of time, and it involves a certain habitation, or dwelling place. The same word in more ancient times denoted the full “circle” or generation from beginning back to beginning. It was also used as an expression of honor. “Who shall declare his generation” or “Who shall declare his honor?” “Who shall declare his dwelling place?” “Who shall declare his revolution or fully completed circle of time?”

The spiritual offspring from the spiritual bride which he has taken from among men to present unto him­self becomes the generation. This is the royal priesthood selected as the few from among the many. Here the “rod of iron” that is fully rooted in the Psalms and taken out of the First Testament takes on the life of its own “depth meaning.” From the root, the scion has grown to be the branch, and is chosen to become the versatile rod. This rod holds the iron of the axe head which will now be set unto the root of the nations that refused the teaching of God, and now have no choice in the matter.

Man that is born of woman is indeed of few days, for his agenda is forcibly limited. Man that is born of God shall experience an eternal and blissful agenda.

Jesus was about the Father’s business because he was born from above, or by the will of the Father. You may recall he separated himself from his natural family on one occasion and took the opportuni­ty to explore the truth of scripture within the temple of God.

We implore the saints of God to do even as Christ ─ separate yourselves ─ explore the truth ─ for you are the temple not made with hands.

The final aspect of Honor thy father and thy mother is still wanting concerning the new mother of some Christians. It is only because they haven’t walked closely as a disciple and discovered the depth meaning of the teachings of Christ. The multitudes were taught in parables but the chosen of Christ were taught directly of the Father. He said, I and my Father are one. The multi­tudes had trouble hearing although they had ears to hear. The sheep of the pasture of the Good Shepherd are said to know his voice … and hearing is no problem.

Jesus was once teaching a certain multitude when his mother and brethren came up and called for him. This was told to him by those near him at the time. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and my mother.

Who then is the mother of the new creature in Christ? Accord­ing to the great Rabbi of our Souls in Christ it is the neighbor about you who you are commanded to love even as you love the Father. Jesus said all the law and prophets hang upon these two commandments to love.

Since love covers a multitude of sins, it is then wise to walk in love and honor toward God and toward your fellow man.

Forgiveness measures love and restores honor. For­giveness tears down barriers of pretense where sin hides, and sets men free by the explosion of truth.

Therefore: Love God … and love your neighbor. Therefore: Give honor to whom honor is due.

Therefore: HONOR THY FATHER . . . a n d . . . THY MOTHER.

 

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Essay | Written October 9th, 1994

Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother PDF