The Sounding of the Last Trumpet
“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets.”
Revelation 10:7
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
1 Corinthians 15:52
Let us consider these two scriptures in the “fear of the Lord” as we acknowledge His Holy Word’s harmony, purity and perfection.
The Greek word translated as “sound” in Revelation and the Greek Word translated as “trump” are from the SAME Greek Word; the only difference is that one is a noun and the other is a verb. This is clear in their usage in the text.
Translated: “Trump” in KJV properly Trumpet (Noun) in 1 Cor. 15:52
Σάλπιγξ – salpigx
Thayer Definition:
1) a trumpet
Part of Speech: noun, feminine
Translated: “Sound” in KJV properly “to sound a Trumpet” (Verb) in Revelation 10:7
Σαλπίζω – salpizō
Thayer Definition:
1) to sound a trumpet
Part of Speech: verb
Any teaching that is not congruent with the entirety of the Word of God is false. In Corinthians, Paul is presenting that what the church has called the “rapture” will not occur until the “last trumpet”. In the Book of Revelation, John declares that the seventh angel will not sound until the “mystery of God is finished.” This erroneous teaching concerning the timing of the “last trumpet” has led to apathy and neglect, thus robbing the people of God from comprehending the CALL that He has given to His Church!
Thy Kingdom Come!
Many pray the Lord’s Prayer, but few realize its full implications.
“Thy Kingdom come,
Thy Will be done on earth…”
This prayer is often uttered by rote, lacking the vitality of a living faith that expects His Will to be done in our “earth”; that His Kingdom is to rule in our own heart, and in His Church. God has purposed that each of us come into the fullness of His Will being accomplished. The irony of much of the false gospel being preached concerning the “rapture” today declares that God is not able to answer the prayer of Jesus in John 17:
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent Me.”
John 17:21
It is a revelation of our unbelief to think that the prayer of Jesus will go unanswered. Let the heart and the cry of Jesus, “that the world may believe”, sink into our hearts. Every epistle of the New Testament encourages us to press towards this unity. Any life touched by the pure majesty and unspeakable power of God has no trouble believing He is ABLE!
“That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
Ephesians 5:27
Any serious reader of the letter of Paul to THE Church at Ephesus, who has felt the breath of the Holy Spirit in its full context, cannot arrive at any other conclusion! Jesus came to infuse His Church with His Life that He might present a “glorious church”, pure and spotless! Woe be to those who, through unbelief, present any other truth!
Ephesians 4:1-6
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Those who live in His Spirit acknowledge the truth and submit to His call by conducting themselves in “all lowliness and meekness… forbearing one another in love.” It is the carnality of men to seek others to follow them rather than to humble themselves to pour out their lives in concert with others so that all would follow Jesus in the Unity of the Spirit.
It is unbelief to think that He is going to remove His Church in her carnality, her corruption and her current state of worldliness! What God has begun in Christ, He will finish so “that the world may believe”.
THE LAST TRUMPET
“But that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
Revelation 10:7 (ESV)
When does that trumpet begin to sound?
“The mystery of God would be fulfilled”
What is the Mystery of God that the Word has declared through ALL His “servants the prophets”?
“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus…”
Colossians 1:26-28 (see note at the end)
What is the one distinguishing characteristic of those who hold the power of this awesome truth?
“Whereunto I also labour, striving according to His working,
which worketh in me mightily…”
Colossians 1:29
There is a difference between those who hold truth as a doctrine and those in whom the truth burns as a fire.
“For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, WOE IS UNTO ME, IF I PREACH NOT THE GOSPEL! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.”
1 Corinthians 9:16-18
When the church falls from her place in God, she is content with professional ministry, one that will preach what she wants to hear; sadly, there will always be those who are more than happy to appease her.
Paul Prophesies of Our Day!
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.”
2 Timothy 4:3
As Francis Bacon commented on the above verse:
“Shall they heap to themselves teachers (ἑαυτοῖς ἐπισωρεύ σουσιν διδασκάλους) A vigorous and graphic statement. Ἑπισωρεύειν to heap up, N.T. Comp. σεσωρευμένα laden, 3:6. The word is ironical; shall invite teachers en masse. In periods of unsettled faith, skepticism, and mere curious speculation in matters of religion, teachers of all kinds swarm like the flies in Egypt. The demand creates the supply. The hearers invite and shape their own preachers. If the people desire a calf to worship, a ministerial calf-maker is readily found. “The master of superstition is the people, and in all superstition wise men follow fools.”
– Francis Bacon – (Bacon, Ess. 17).
What was Paul’s exhortation to Timothy in the previous verse?
“Preach the word; be instant in season,
out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort
with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
2 Timothy 4:2
Many distance themselves from reproof, rebuke, and exhortation. Why? Because they have not received the love (agape) of truth. They desire smooth words, encouraging words, and most of all comforting words that offer a contentment in “knowing” the truth apart from a life of “doing” the truth!
Only those who seek and press into God for the grace to do can come to the living light of God!
“But he that doeth truth cometh to the light…”
John 3:21
The doctrine of the “rapture” is a deception that has blinded His people to their responsibility and their accountability to God. He has a purpose far beyond forgiveness for His Church. HE will not allow the “last Trumpet” to sound until we have come under His government and authority in every aspect, unto the “full stature of Christ”!
The Purpose of True and Anointed Ministry
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers…”
WHY?
“to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…”
Until?
“until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…”
Ephesians 4:11-13
If we have a short-sighted ministry that can only see their own church, their own following, we will continue to have people being fed the milk of the word. The purpose of the five-fold ministry given by God to HIS church is to bring the people of God unto the “unity of the faith”, not to divide them! True ministry seeks to build up the BODY of Christ, not themselves!
“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet NOW are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?”
1 Corinthians 3:1-4
As long as we declare that we are of some denomination, teacher, or prophet, we will be unable to receive the “meat” of His word. God withholds it from those who do not touch the heart and power of the Holy Spirit.
Unity
“For we being many are one bread, and one body:
for we are all partakers of that one bread.”
1 Corinthians 10:17
“The reason for division and strife is that the One Bread (His Body – His truth) has been corrupted by the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Men have twisted, marginalized, accentuated, and insidiously injected something of themselves into His pure Word. It is imperative that we read His Word without bias and allow His Spirit to open the depths of His Word so that we may be partakers of Him and not the teaching of men.”
Quote from: The Leaven of the Pharisees
Unity is the result of our partaking of the ONE BREAD by His Spirit. Our comprehension of the Unity of the Spirit is the result of our being baptized into Him. May His Word be the only measure of our walk.
“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,
whether we be Jews or Gentiles…”
1 Corinthians 12:13
Belief in this truth is revealed in what we do, not what we profess. Those who have been truly “baptized into one body” feel the angst and need for this to be the truth they live and preach. Until His truth becomes a living reality within us, we have yet to touch the fire of His heart. Those who have His life within will feel the echoes of His prayer reverberating in their own heart for this Unity. True servants of the Lord live to serve His Will, not their own.
Please read: https://aword.info/the-body-of-christ-unity/
To teach that God is going to “rapture” us without completing that for which Christ was sent denies the very prayer of Jesus.
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent Me.”
John 17:21
If we stumble at the above scripture, may God remind us that HE who created the world out of darkness and chaos is more than able to bring His true Church to the Unity HE has purposed!
“And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep…”
Genesis 1:2
Paul reminds us of this startling truth:
“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
2 Corinthians 4:6
It is by our receiving the “light of the knowledge of the Glory of God” in Christ that we do not stagger in unbelief at such power.
Paul’s Prayer
“May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us…”
Ephesians 3:18-20
The Unity of the Faith will only be realized by those who “comprehend” that God’s purpose is to fill each of us “with ALL the Fullness of God”. His fullness in one member will be experienced by the fullness of His life in another, culminating in His unity filling both. It can be no other way.
The prayer of Jesus stands as the Call of God to His church. While some labour to build their buildings and fulfill their agendas, there are some who are beginning to grasp that we are “living stones” being built into a living Temple (1 Peter 2:4-5). One that HE will fill with His Glory because of the perfection of the offering of Christ, who gave His Life as a ransom. If we believe that the disobedience of Adam is of greater power than that of the living Christ, we should seek God afresh.
Woe unto those who “suppress the truth”, who, because of unbelief and ignorance of the power of God, present a gospel that compromises with sin and division.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”
Romans 1:18 (ESV)
“let God be true, but every man a liar”
Romans 3:4
“Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures,
nor the power of God.”
Matthew 22:29
Note on Colossians 1:26-29
“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”
For these scriptures to be read without producing a fire and stirring within our hearts is evidence that slumber has overtaken us; a slumber so deep that we can read His Word of life and not be convicted by the power of it. May He have mercy upon us that we may live with a passion to make HIM known.
Brian Troxel
Great post, Brian! I don’t recall reading any like it. I too believe that many are believing in a lie. But they keep on believing it even when faced with the truth. We are sanctified by Truth, John 17:17. So how many are not sanctified because they believe the rapture will whisk them away?
I believe in a spiritual rapture, Ephesians 2:5-6. We must be “In Christ.” That means we are led by the Holy Spirit and not by the flesh. The Church is for the most part is led by the flesh and not “In Christ” from what I have seen.
I believe we must live spiritually raptured to be ready when He sends the angels to gather His elect, Matt.24:31. We must learn to be dwelling in the heavenly realm to be safe, Rev. 12:12.
I pray you agree! I enjoyed reading this one! You brought up so many good points!
Darling of Jesus, I was in a house church meeting praying for a sister, standing facing her, laying my hands lightly on her shoulders, when suddenly she was catapulted bodily with incredibly tremendous force several yards across to the other side of the room landing on a coach. This I believe was and is an exemplification of the Spirit of the Christ of God Who shall supernaturally remove His church not only spiritually but also physically from the earth as per the main and plain meaning of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.
I sing a Phil Driscoll song every day, “Up in the Spirit” I have yet to land on a couch! lol! Not that some don’t need just that my friend! How have you been?
I continue seeing and savoring the Son’s splendorous sovereignty and supercendent supremacy as mightily merciful, greatly gratifying grace for glorious salvation and sanctification.
Romans 8:28-30 AMP
28 And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers. 30 And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity].
Grace to you and peace multiplied.
Sometimes we do good things, sometimes we do bad things. But the grace of God works anyway. – Rick Renner.
“Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…”
2 Corinthians 5:9-11
Only those who know the “terror of the Lord” can persuade men.
If the truth is as you say, why would Paul exhort Titus to “speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority” as he was sent out by the Holy Spirit to minister the truth of God to His Church?
The Parable of the Sower reveals a powerful truth. It was not the seed sown that determined an individual’s fruitfulness; it was the soil into which the seed fell. The SAME seed fell upon hard ground, one with thistles and thorns and even into various degrees of good soil, some thirty-fold, some sixty-fold and some one hundred-fold. The soil being the determining factor.
“Herein is my Father glorified…” As a precious brother declared The Christian life is not the seed nor the soil, it is the seed IN the soil and the soil yielding itself to the jurisdiction of the seed.
Only a man bereft of the fear of the Lord would make a statement like Rick Renner.
“Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him.” The labour that moves in me is the fruit of His Spirit, and the greater I yield myself to Him the more He labours in me :-).
Where there is no labour, no compulsion of love unto good works, there is merely a belief in God that is of no consequence in the lives of others.
We both must answer Him on that day, and because of that, I seek to persuade men (and myself) of our accountability.
Blessings
BT
God is the God of wonders, the God Who shows wonders. He is Dunamis Power Omnipotent. He is all glorious, full of weighty Splendor.
Bless His Mighty Name!
He will sound the Last Trumpet when she is pure, “spotless and without blemish.” It is the mandate of His five-fold ministry to present Him selflessly, in humility, to see HIS Church arise from the ashes of men’s egos and selfish agendas.
“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Eph. 4:13
They who have this spirit labour unto His end. To think otherwise, as Paul declares:
“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained…” Phil. 3:14-16
If you are not thus “minded”, God will reveal THIS unto you.
“Attain” is a New Testament Word. Not by the works of the flesh but by the press of His Spirit, bringing us into the ministrations of the Spirit that will cause His people to arise.
Paul was exhorting the people of God “night and day unto tears”, and as the Holy Spirit works in us, we will feel the wonder of His Fire also.
I was praying for your health the other day.
Blessings
BT
Sometimes we do good things, sometimes we do bad things. But the grace of God works anyway. – Rick Renner
Is it in your angst or perhaps Pharisaical sense of superiority that you stoop to slander our brother in Christ, Rick Renner, with your egregious statement, “Only a man bereft of the fear of the Lord would make a statement like Rick Renner.”? To anyone familiar with our beloved brother’s life of Christlikeness and long, extremely fruitful Holy Spirit ministry, your abject ignorance concerning him is almost overly obvious.
So you publicly profess that you do not sometimes do bad things, and that God’s grace does not prevail?
Why do you cheat on yourself with this gross imposition of delusion, and so very recklessly worse, heinously slander the Living Word?
1 John 1:8-10 AMP
8 If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.] 9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose]. 10 If we say that we have not sinned [refusing to admit acts of sin], we make Him [out to be] a liar [by contradicting Him] and His word is not in us.
Romans 5:20-21 AMP
20 But the Law came to increase and expand [the awareness of] the trespass [by defining and unmasking sin]. But where sin increased, [God’s remarkable, gracious gift of] grace [His unmerited favor] has surpassed it and increased all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness which brings eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessings,
BT
“Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that that One was revealed that He might take away our sins, and sin is not in Him. Everyone remaining in Him does not sin. Everyone sinning has not seen Him, nor known Him. Little children, let no one lead you astray; the one practicing righteousness is righteous, even as that One is righteous.”
1 John 3:5-7
Beloved Brian, as per your citing 1 John 3:5-7, “Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that that One was revealed that He might take away our sins, and sin is not in Him. Everyone remaining in Him does not sin. Everyone sinning has not seen Him, nor known Him. Little children, let no one lead you astray; the one practicing righteousness is righteous, even as that One is righteous.”
Regarding 1 John 3:5-7, I humbly hope the following helps you further along in the Truth for His glory, for your progress and joy, and that of precious others. Romans 5:20-21 which I quoted, and 1 John 3:5-7 are in no wise whatsoever contradictory as the Living, Eternal Word cannot contradict His character.
Abundant grace to you and mightily merciful, magnificent peace multiplied by Christ’s ceaseless compassion and His constant companionship.
https://versebyversecommentary.com/2001/05/23/1-john37/
Agreed – As with Enoch, when he had finished his testimony, God took him.
Paul, with all of his might, was “pressing toward the mark” and declared he had not yet attained but was pressing toward the “upward call”. He was not resting in a declared righteousness… so many today do not have an understanding of this truth.
Blessings
BT
Amen, Brother!
Titus 3:5 AMP
He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we have done, but because of His own compassion and mercy…
By the sufficient, substitutionary shed blood of her undeserved Savior, her lovingly liberating Lord, the beneficently beautified bride of Christ is everlastingly redeemed and righteously reconciled to her mercifully mighty, magnificently munificent King.
Nada, nothing, zero, zip, zilch is there to boast about or take credit for, not for salvation nor sanctification!
Most emphatically, this supraconscious awareness acutely quickened to spirits by the inimitably blessing Holy Spirit causes honesty, humility, graciousness, and gratitude to flourish and prosper in the person. Such moves to unconditional love and deeds of excellence, knowing well that even the good works which one does are achieved exclusively through the intimately indwelling, infilling dunamis of the overflowing One transcendently true, boundlessly beautiful, Eternal Triune God Almighty, limitlessly loving, infinitely living, perfectly providing, by His unearned, undeserved, unmerited grace, for His endlessly effulgent, ineffably unmatched glory.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 AMP (emphasis added)
For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain [on the earth] will simultaneously be caught up (raptured) together with them [the resurrected ones] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord! 18 THEREFORE COMFORT and ENCOURAGE one another with THESE words [concerning our reunion with believers who have died].
Footnotes
b. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 Only Michael is identified as an archangel (Dan 10:13; Jude 9).
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, not Corinthians
“Whereunto I also labour, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily…”
Colossians 1:29
The striving (mentioned here) and Paul pressing are the fruits of the Holy Spirit and not flesh. Doctrinal understandings will rest in words, spiritual truths will move men and women from within by the fire of His Spirit.
“For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, WOE IS UNTO ME, IF I PREACH NOT THE GOSPEL! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.”
It is by His Spirit that an individual receives “a dispensation of the Gospel of God”. They who live by words will never touch this wonder.
Paul “charged” Timothy: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
2 Timothy 4:2
It is a careless and complacent life that does not see the need in this hour for such expressions. Apathy is the fruit of religious words held without the faith and fire of God.
Paul described his life in Ephesus in Acts 20:31: “Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” He was not casual in his ministry with the saints in Ephesus, nor should we be. The Kingdom of God is not in word(s).
“For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?”
1 Corinthians 4:20
“Faith without works is dead.”
Even our receptivity of and responsiveness to the Word and the Way, Who Is the Truth and the Life, is not apart from the Mercy and the Grace of Christ, Himself, abiding in us and us in Him.
Who is the source of mercy and grace, or is the Father of mercies and the God of all grace the sole Source and Supply of divine enablement and holy empowerment for consecration to Christ?
What do we have of actual worth that we did not receive from the Lord Most High, the Father of lights, the Giver of every good and perfect gift?
1 Corinthians 1:3-4 AMP
Blessed [gratefully praised and adored] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts and encourages us in every trouble so that we will be able to comfort and encourage those who are in any kind of trouble, with the comfort with which we are comforted by God.
Our ardently affectionate Abba Almighty does not merely major in the ministry of mercy; He is Himself mercy, even as He is not only loving, but that He is none other than Himself Who is love (1 John 4:8,16).
Faith functions and is fueled and fulfilled by love. God is love. Faith without God working in and through us is dead.
His perfecting workmanship we are, and His workmanship in progress is perfect, do we not agree?
What does it mean to you by being complete in Christ?
Romans 8:28-30 AMP
28 And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers. 30 And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity].
Our Holy Spirit enabled and thus right response is to lay our enlightened hearts prostrate in humility and gratitude before the Father of lights and His ceaselessly compassionate Christ.
Such worship in Spirit and Truth is expressed and demonstrated in word and deed.
Our lives are written by the Spirit of the living God, the Author of life, not on tablets of stone but on the tables of human hearts.
Spinning wheels of self-striving direly deepens the religious rut; the life Christ died for and desires us is His resurrection life, both lived in us and shown forth through us as no less than Himself.
The merciful latter is surrender and submission to the superscendent Splendor of the Son for the infinitely deserving praise and everlasting glory of His entirely, eternally undeserved grace.
I pray the Fire of His holy desire blaze ever higher and higher in each and everyone one of us who are His redeemed.
There are many words being used here in order to attempt to explain that words cannot give to us what only being in Christ can yield for us in true biblical faith. For it is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Having used words to say that, more needs to be said: if God alone is to do the work; then why do we expect to effect it? We are to understand the word because we are led by the Spirit. The word makes the current popular thinking on the rapture incorrect, because it (the word) requires a body complete with every stone perfectly fit into place. Those who have gone on before (the dead in Christ) are already shaped to fit, but those who remain if they remain until these dead in Christ shall come, will themselves be shaped through the fires of great tribulation into the final stones of oneness to complete a church without spot or wrinkle. One totally reliant upon and completely secure in Christ. In order to accomplish this, unfortunately many will fall away from this life of biblical faith adopting a worldly faith having no assurance of anything.
To our magnificent Maker for all His munificent mercy, to our mighty, marvelous God for all His grace, be all the glory! Let all that has breath and every breath of my life revel and rejoice in Him forevermore!
Beloved Jerry, you write, “Having used words to say that, more needs to be said: if God alone is to do the work, then why do we expect to effect it?”
Respectfully, I suggest you prayerfully ponder John Gill’s excellent exposition of Philippians, addressing your question.
Philippians 2:13 AMP
For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.
“John Gill’s writings have withstood the test of time. Dr. Gill preached in the same church as C.H. Spurgeon over 100 years ago. Dr. Gill was so respected that Spurgeon preached an overview of Dr. Gill’s life and works in a sermon on August 16, 1859.”
“Gill attended Kettering Grammar School, where he mastered the Latin classics and learned Greek by the age of 11. He also self-taught himself Hebrew and had an extensive knowledge of Greek. In addition, John Gill was well-versed in the ancient writings of the Jews. He was a defender of the doctrine of grace, a staunch Calvinist, and he believed in God’s sovereignty in salvation. In 1748, Gill was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen.”
Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/geb.html
Of Philippians 2:13
For it is God which worketh in you,…. Which is both an encouragement to persons conscious of their own weakness to work, as before exhorted to; see Haggai 2:4; and a reason and argument for humility and meekness, and against pride and vain glory, since all we have, and do, is from God; and also points out the spring, principle, and foundation of all good works; namely, the grace of God wrought in the heart, which is an internal work, and purely the work of God: by this men become the workmanship of God, created unto good works, Ephesians 2:10, and are new men, and fitted for the performance of acts of righteousness, and true holiness; and this grace, which God works in them, is wrought in a powerful and efficacious manner, so as not to be frustrated and made void. The word here used signifies an inward, powerful, and efficacious operation; and the “king’s manuscript”, mentioned by Grotius and Hammond, adds another word to it, which makes the sense still stronger, reading it thus, “which worketh in you”, “by power”; not by moral persuasion, but by his own power, the power of his efficacious grace. The Alexandrian copy reads, “powers”, or “mighty works”: God works in his people both to will and to do of his good pleasure; God works in converted men a will to that which is spiritually good; which is to be understood, not of the formation of the natural faculty of the will; or of the preservation of it, and its natural liberty; or of the general motion of it to natural objects; nor of his influence on it in a providential way; but of the making of it good, and causing a willingness in it to that which is spiritually good. Men have no will naturally to come to Christ, or to have him to reign over them; they have no desire, nor hungerings and thirstings after his righteousness and salvation; wherever there are any such inclinations and desires, they are wrought in men by God; who works upon the stubborn and inflexible will, and, without any force to it, makes the soul willing to be saved by Christ, and submit to his righteousness, and do his will; he sweetly and powerfully draws it with the cords of love to himself, and to his Son, and so influences it by his grace and spirit, and which he continues, that it freely wills everything spiritually good, and for the glory of God: and he works in them also to “do”; for there is sometimes in believers a will, when there wants a power of doing. God therefore both implants in them principles of action to work from, as faith and love, and a regard for his glory, and gives them grace and strength to work with, without which they can do nothing, but having these, can do all things: and all this is “of his good pleasure”; the word “his” not being in the original text, some have taken the liberty to ascribe this to the will of man; and so the Syriac version renders it, “both to will and to do that”, , “which ye will”, or according to your good will; but such a sense is both bad and senseless; for if they have a good will of themselves, what occasion is there for God to work one in them? No; these internal operations of divine power and grace are not owing to the will of men, nor to any merits of theirs, or are what God is obliged to do, but what flow from his sovereign will and pleasure; who works when, where, and as he pleases, and that for his own glory; and who continues to do so in the hearts of his people; otherwise, notwithstanding the work of grace in them, they would find very little inclination to, and few and faint desires after spiritual things; and less strength to do what is spiritually good; but God of his good pleasure goes on working what is well pleasing in his sight.
The proof of God working in us is revealed in our “working out” our own salvation. “To him that overcometh” are the promises given not to those who believe well.
Love you brother…
BT
My esteemed brother, your error, a reversal of divine order, is a misappropriation of emphasis. The working out of our salvation is the Christ consequence of the FOR > “For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, BOTH to will AND to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.”
WHO is strengthening, energizing, and creating the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose?
Note well, BOTH to will AND to work.
The energy and emphasis of excellence FOR good and glory belongs TO the God of all grace, our enacting, enabling, ennobling Father of mercies, in Whom we live and move and have our being, from Whom and to Whom and through Whom is all that is, and was, and shall be (Romans 11:36).
Simple, child-like faith sans self-sophistry or self-striving for suppositional station, holy honors, sees and savors our Savior and Sanctifier as supremely sufficient for securing salvation for us. Wholly dependent on God we are for the working out of our salvation as He sovereignly graces us with reverence and awe, in purpose, thought, word, and deed.
The conquest and crown are no less than conformity to the character of Christ, the consequence of this foundational faith of not leaning on our natural understanding or trusting in our shifting selves for our spiritual sanity and security.
Burning blessings of Jesus’ boundless beauty in your being and intimate blessings of loving affection from His holy heart as King of heaven and Lord of history.
Your understanding, if correct, then please explain why it has not turned both you and I into robots (all from God, nothing from us)? And then just as you argue that if it is up to us then why do we need a savior; I would argue if we are given not just the gift of salvation, and righteousness, but also the will to do-then how is it, at least, not up to us to use His gifting wisely? Why else would He only give us the power to become the Sons of God having given us this new birth as recorded in John chapter one. And just, which group for us will He choose for us to be in, out of the three groups; if one group is chosen for enduring salvation and another group for falling from the faith; and yet another group to never be chosen at all to have any taste of the Masters touch? And why does He search for men of a contrite heart? Why would Christ Himself urge us to remain or abide in Him if He has made of us to be chosen only for salvation. Though it is true that we can do nothing good without Him; yet we still must be able to Deny Him and walk away; otherwise He would not tell us that if we Deny Him He will deny us before His Father who is in Heaven. Why did Saul whom He had chosen and granted a new heart fall out of His favor? Finally, why is James speaking to the brethren in these two verses? If there is no responsibility upon you or me my fellow believer for the gifting that He has given us?
James 5:19 My brothers [and sisters,] if anyone among you strays from the truth and someone turns him back,
James 5:20 let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. (NASB2020)
And why has He even given us this word and the admonition that we should study it to show ourselves approved workmen who “ourselves” need not be ashamed? If The Father has chosen us in Christ to be predestined to one thing, and those who never find Christ to be predestined to another; is that not good enough reason why we are admonished in Scripture to make our calling and election sure?
Amen! There are far too many today who lack passion and personal investment. They are, in essence blaming God for their spiritual condition because they have no accountability for their choices. I know far too many who believe such things.
Free will is the basis of relationship. People who divest themselves of responsibility are unable to have a true relationship with God. The Christian life is one full of choices, personal choices.
“choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15
Yes, I repent and pray to be more passionate and more personally invested.
We should be circumspect, though, Christ-conscious of who we give the credit for our progress.
In God I trust, not myself.
Many need more times to fall flat on their faces for their failures of misplaced faith in themselves before the Spirit enables them to fall flat on their faces in giving the God of all grace all the glory.
By the mercy and grace of God, I am who I am, gladly and gratefully His workmanship, finely fitted for fellowship with Him in the here and hereafter of heaven,
Romans 8:28-30 AMP
28 And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.
29 For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers.
30 And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity].
Incendiumata Amoriolio
We are not robots because we were created in the image of our Creator. Christ is love (1 John 4:8,16) wondrously wooing and wowing, entrancing and romancing us as His bride with the boundless beauty of His being and beneficence, working by His Spirit’s operation, our cooperation that is consecration to Himself.
As we cherishfully cultivate intimacy in vital, conscious union and increasingly intimate, abiding love communion with the Triune God, the Spirit of Christ, conforming us to the character of Christ, is expressed, manifested, and demonstrated for us, in us, and through us to others.
Clenching our fists, gritting our teeth, and trying longer and or harder is masterfully meant by our marvellous Maker to bring us, alas, to the end of our vainglorious efforts to appreciate more humbly His mercy, and thus be more receptive to His grace of right responsiveness to Himself.
Some say we are irresponsible; I say others trust themselves, usurping the place of God and need to be knocked down, beaten up, run over, and bedraggled by their failures for their conscience and consciousness to come to the contrite conclusion and confession that Christ is all sufficient always to all men everywhere.
Before you were a twinkle in your biological father’s eye, even from everlasting past, your Father of mercies and God of all grace, being omnisciently prescient, knew you would accept His Christ, your Bridegroom, your forever First Love, constituting your predestination.
Romans 8:28 30 AMP
28 And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers. 30 And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity].
Selah (pause and calmly think of that)
An excerpt from Chapter 12 of the book ‘The Feast of Tabernacles’
By George H. Warnock
IS GOD TEASING THE SAINTS?
God forbid! Hath He spoken and shall He not do it? Hath He promised and shall He not bring it to pass? Did He not mean what He said concerning the Holy Spirit, that He was given to search out the “depths of God,” even the things that have not entered into the heart of man? Shall the prayer of the Son of God go unanswered? And were His words falsely spoken when He declared, “The glory which thou gavest me I have given them?” Shall the first Adam who brought desolation and chaos into the world be permitted to live almost a thousand years, and the sons of the Last Adam be accounted blasphemers and fanatics for preaching Divine Health and Divine Life? Shall men like Enoch and Elijah reach out and appropriate translation by faith, and the brethren of Christ be accursed for cherishing a similar hope? Shall the All-wise God account Himself a fool according to His Beloved Son, for not sitting down first and counting the cost, and see whether He is able to lay a foundation for a glorious Temple, and not able to finish it, while scoffers and passers-by ridicule His feeble architectural plans? Shall the gates of Hell continue to prevail against the Church of Jesus Christ? Shall the great Husbandman admit defeat, and thrust in the sickle before the grain is ripe and fully formed in the ear? Shall He prove the impatience of His Spirit by cutting down the grain before it receives the early and the latter rain? Shall He impart gifts of the Spirit to His people and set the ministers of Christ in the Church for the perfecting of the saints, and then rapture them all before they attain to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ?
No! A thousand times no!
A good word and timely –
Thanks Terry!
Love it.
“There is a difference between those who hold truth as a doctrine and those in whom the truth burns as a fire.”
This is a great observation.
Blessings
Amen!