Mathew chapter 8 continues ....2

Mathew 8:5-13

The second person Jesus met with after the leper was a centurion, a man of much authority, a military leader. He could motivate and mobilize platoons by his authority. But when it comes to the case of  health or mental welfare he was helpless. Authoritarian can exercise his authority on his subjects and can exploit them but often cannot maintain and mend their welfare. That need concern, kindness and compassion towards other people. Authoritarianism doesn't  posses these spiritual qualities. Jesus has authority but it over spirit. He can motivate, mobilize and rejuvenate spirit. One cannot be a spiritual enlightener, leader,  until and unless he/she can motivate and rejuvenate spirit. But most of the time we see so called spiritual  as well as social leaders crush soul and spirit and make people passive, paralysed, painful and diseased as they exercise authority over people like this centurion. 'How the soul is so the man is'. This centurion understood he cannot heal anyone who suffer, with his authority and power. So he visited Jesus and begged him to heal his servant.  Why? He mentions why he came to Jesus to heal his servant. He has authority so if he says someone to go, he goes and to say do this he does that but he cannot command disease to move, or he cannot command a diseased soul, only a healthy body. But Jesus was not for healthy, but for diseased and sinful.  

Jesus agreed to accompany him and heal the servant but centurion was not ready to take Jesus home. he said," Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof". Why it is so? The centurion was under the roof of a political system where law and regulations in force to mobilize and activate society, but no righteousness prevailed. Where there is righteousness there no need of a government, law and regulations. Where righteousness dies there rise up a government and its laws and regulations to control unrighteousness.  In nutshell, we can say government's foundation is an unrighteous human society. That's why centurion prevent Jesus from coming to 'under his roof', the roof of authority , the roof of law and regulations, the roof of polity. Jesus amazed in the discriminative power of this centurion and he said,   "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 

What does it mean? It means that this discriminative power to understand, to distinguish between the kingdom of God and kingdom of polity is an inevitable one to follow Jesus, or there begins real faith. As soon as this centurion made out this difference in his conviction his servant cured. If we cannot make out this difference in its full depth, we cannot be spiritual . We are not in line with real faith.

Mathew, chapter 8:1-4

Mathew 8: 1-4

By the chapter seven, as I mentioned earlier, the sermon on mountain finished. In chapter eight Jesus comes down to the ground reality from sermon on mountain. Verse one in this chapter indicates so. There he sees diseased people. All the diseased lack one thing, mercy . That valley, where Jesus came down to, was like a grave yard, all were dead bodies, because of lack of mercy,  love and other positive emotions and their involvements, lack of spirit, but law and authority. The first person he met with in the valley was a leper, one socially rejected and untouchable. As soon as the leper saw Jesus, he begged to heal him. Jesus touched him and healed. Touching a leper is a very rare deed in those days, need much immeasurable mercy and love. That kind of mercy and love provided the leper with immeasurable immunity against such a terrible disease and thereby he survived. Emotions divine such as love, compassion, mercy, kindness etc. among people strengthen themselves, immunize themselves and help themselves to survive many obstacles. Otherwise, God works among people  through  such divine emotions or God is such divine emotions. Emotional welfare is not luxury but essential for social welfare. Without this welfare nobody can bring any other kind of welfare to society. Otherwise all other kind of welfare such as financial and health are basically depend on this primary welfare , the emotional welfare or spiritual welfare.  But, think about the state, if it is hatred, envy, jealousy etc. in place of them. No welfare is effective or possible, that is happening today in our world. 

No religion or religious work can bring such a welfare in to human society, don't misunderstand. That's why Jesus told the healed man to show himself to the priest and to offer the gifts Moses commanded as a testimony. Means, to convince priestly hood that God works outside such religious frame work and fabric, God doesn't work only under priestly hood and religion but priestly hood under God. God works independentely . 

Mathew Chapter 7 continues….4

This is the last part of Mathew chapter 7 and these last verses of this chapter tell us some important facts, a great principle in the doctrine. I have explained these last verses of this chapter in another blog so I share it here to read.



Need A Change In Your Life ?: Foundation and Superstructure: These are the another correlatives in divine principles. The strength of foundation decides the the strength of superstructure. Not the o...

Biblically Marriage is a secular affair, neither religious nor spiritual.

Faith and spirituality are completely personal or at least those begin as personal affairs and grow as social ones. Anything physical or material can be imparted, such as wealth, physical features of parents etc. But spirituality cannot be imparted as it is intangible property. As it is intangible property  it can neither be inherited from our parents, ancestors and neighbours. Means, it can neither be lent nor be borrowed. That is something each one has to cultivate in himself. Some time other elements such as people and living environment may become instrumental to enter one into the spiritual realm. No one can convert any one to spirituality by force, it is the matter of conviction and thereby righteousness. Not the matter of force and law. Means, none can convert even his own kin forcefully because faith and spirituality are not simply physical obedience but conviction. Then some time a question may be asked that whether a believer's family should be spiritual or should be secular. Better to be secular than forcefully try to change them. Another question that can be asked then might be about the spirituality of spouse. If you have no reason or right to force your own blood relatives to follow faith, then how can you force your spouse? Then, is it marriage a secular institution? It can be so.  According to Jesus the one and only condition to continue one man and woman as married couple is marital faithfulness, nothing else.

Recently I had to think about the relation in marriage .  What is the core fact that maintain and protect the relation between spouses in a marriage. Is there any condition in which the marital bond can be broken, Biblically? Bible says as long as the marital faithfulness exists, the bond exists. Then what is marital faithfulness?We can interpret it in any our own  way, that's why Jesus very meaningfully answered the question.  See Mathew 5:
32 "But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery". This verse clearly states that marital unfaithfulness results in divorce. To know the truth we have to check the verse in detail. Take the part "anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress", and now consider the inverse of this part. It will be like this, "if a woman becomes adulteress she commits marital unfaithfulness and her husband can divorce her(this is applicable for both husband and wife)". Now it is clear from this what marital unfaithfulness according to Jesus. Let us go a little bit  ahead. The married status, wife and husband status, depend upon sexual faithfulness. As long as sexual fidelity exists there is no option to give up, divorce, your  spouse. Nothing other than this ,fidelity, can be considered as justification for a divorce.Means your relation with your spouse is purely sexual, not anything else like faith, political, religious, financial etc.

Usually a question can be posed at this juncture. Whether a believer can have a non believing spouse because of sexual fidelity according to the above mentioned clarification ?The answer is 'yes'. According to this above mentioned verse, the quality for a person to become someone's spouse is sexual fidelity. More over, most of the apostles had wives but most of them have not been introduced in bible as spiritual partners. If so needed Jesus could select singles, men and women, and after teaching them he could have made them marry to show that both spouses in a mariage should be believers.

Then there is a problem, as per Bible everyone should get connected one another in Jesus' body by holy spirit. so shouldn't the spouse also be connected with holy spirit? Answer is this one, all those who connected and become one in Jesus' body is the church,Jesus' spouse, not husband and wife one another. Unite in spirit,in Jesus' body, doesn't mean unite in sex. Unite in sex means marriage, not unite in Jesus. Unite in spirit means church and all those united in spirit should not necessarily be united in sex. And all those united sexually, by marriage, with believers shouldn't necessarily  be united in holy spirit, in church, because it is the matter of conviction, not the matter of sex. And none can continue in faith depending on spouse's faith or on anyone else's. "1Corianthians 7:16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?"
According to church, marriage is not the part of spirituality, it is a physical mean, not spiritual mean, to avoid immorality.
"1Corianthians: 1 Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry.
2 But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband."
Nothing else is stipulated.
Why did Paul recommend marriage?Whether it was an inevitable spiritual affair ? No. It was not necessary in spirituality, means it is not a spiritual matter, but a secular affair. Then why we should restrict people  in their marriage? If it is for a reliable relation forever, it is ok. But who can make it sure?

The Uncooked Lie about Baptism

To lead a life based on biblical faith is not easy. One of the main reasons is Bible has divisions like Old Testament, Gospels and Epistles. Gospels and Epistles are the two parts of New Testament.  When we read these three parts, there is a chance to feel, some times, that these three are contradicting one another; so we gradually come to confusion. Unfortunately, some people deliberately capitalize on this situation and mislead others for their personal gains or for fulfillment of their vested interests making many groups based on different points.

If we take everything from Old Testament literally, then we will have to take sword and will have to fight for a nation for believers. So is the case of Epistles, we will have to deviate from Gospels if we read and observe only Epistles. In nut shell, those who want to follow Jesus should move along Old Testament and Epistles centering and fixing well their lives in Gospels, means it is like drawing a circle with Gospels -Jesus- as center and other books as radius. If we often deviate from the center, then what we try to draw will not be a circle but something else. So, if we do not center in Gospels while we trying to imbibe truth from other books of Bible, we will not be leading a life of disciples of Jesus but something else.

Recently some people put forward an argument that baptizing should be in the name of Jesus only, not in the name of trinity. They got this idea from Epistles. In Epistles apostles, especially Peter on Pentecost day after his preaching, tell those who believed to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.  So the argument is this, in first century no apostles has baptized anyone in the name of trinity but only in the name of Jesus and baptizing in trinity is not right. These people draw an indefinite figure; it has no center, other wise it is not Jesus-centered. To know more we have to make a detail study about the fact.

First let us examine the verses they use to justify their arguments. Mark 16:16 (ESV2011) whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Here Mark does not say to baptize specifically in ‘father, son and spirit’ (neither in ‘Jesus Christ’ that is another funny thing to that, in Acts 8, I am coming after explaining something that has priority).

Acts2:38 (ESV2011): And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. In these verses also there is no mentioning of trinity. Like this when we go through Epistles we can see that no apostles have suggested or mentioned to get baptized in ‘father, son and Holy Spirit’.

So the assumption is that in the first century there was no practice of baptizing in trinity. If we take this conclusion in to account we will face another dilemma. What is that? Look Acts chapter 8:  12” But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women”. Then come to Verse 38 to see mentioning of eunuch’s baptism. “38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him”. What we have to understand here? Here in these two above mentioned baptisms neither the trinity nor the Christ have been mentioned, so don’t we need to baptize any one in the name of Jesus or in the name of trinity?  Or should we understand that according to the baptism given by Philip we have an option to form another Christian group? What is the fact?

OK, let us consider the baptism from its beginning. Which is the first known baptism?  It is John the Baptist’s. He is the first one who put the baptism in to practice. The baptism he administered was the baptism of repentance. Jesus also had gone through that baptism and in the time of Jesus this baptism was very popular. Look John 3:26  (ESV2011) ‘And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”  But after Jesus’ ascension the baptism is not the baptism of repentance. It has a quite different meaning and purpose. So to make clear, Jesus had to redefine the baptism and its administration to apostles. He did that according to Matthew 28:19 (ESV2011)”Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. From that moment onwards the administration of baptism is in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Whether we mention it simply ‘baptism’ as in the verses Acts 8:12 & 38 or ‘baptism in Christ’ as in the verse Acts 2:38, it doesn’t matter, administration is in trinity.

Now about the baptism apostles mentioned, it is the same Jesus mentioned. Why? As I mentioned above, in those days baptism was very popular, the baptism of repentance. So in first Church meeting on the Pentecost day Peter had to mention the baptism to be taken for salvation, and the same time he had to mention that was not the popularly known baptism but a baptism commanded by Jesus Christ. So he said in short “You should repent and be baptized in Jesus Christ”. If there had not been another well known baptism in those days, Peter would have needed only to say “repent and be baptized” because the only baptism that existed would have been the one Jesus advised.  When time passed away this Jesus-commanded baptism became popular, so at the time of Philip’s preaching in Samaria he needed only to mention as baptism, not as ‘baptism in Jesus’. Now we also say, simply ‘baptism’ not in Christ or in ‘father, son and holy spirit’. But it is the baptism that Jesus commanded to perform. Any way, whether it is known as simply ‘baptism’ or ‘baptism in Jesus’ it doesn’t mater the administration of baptism is in the name of trinity as Jesus Christ directed. Moreover, the method of baptism apostles performed has been explained no where in the epistles to conclude that they performed a baptism which was not in the name of ‘father, son and holy spirit’.   

Now, why should the baptism which apostles suggested be the same as that of the Jesus commanded as long as the trinity has not been mentioned by apostles in their epistles? To answer this question a best method is to ask another question. What is the meaning of apostles in Bible? Sure, messengers of Jesus Christ. If these apostles are messengers of Christ, which baptism they have to preach and practice? The one Jesus commanded them to perform, if they preach and perform another baptism they are not apostles of Jesus Christ and those who want to follow Jesus needn’t obey them.

In nut shell when we go through, when we read, apostles and prophets we have to stand firm in Jesus –in Gospels. Other wise any one will easily be mislead and exploited by the wolves in sheep-skins. So make sure we have a good stead in Gospels. Don’t be a ‘loin cloth on line’ because wind may blow ‘from’ different directions and ‘to’ different directions.

Kingdom of heaven ,The Church, is not Kingdom of Israel - New testament and Old testament

I happened to confront with some arguments that still maintain the concept 'Israel as Church'. Many who follow Bible still, practically, follow the Kingdom of Israel not the Kingdom of Heaven mentioned in New Testament. 

First we have to understand what Israel and what Kingdom of Heaven or The Church. 

Whoever reads the Bible with any attention cannot fail to perceive that more than half of its contents relate to one nation: the Israelites. He perceives, too, that they have a distinct place in the dealings and counsels of God. Separated from the mass of mankind, they are taken into covenant with Jehovah, who gives them specific promises not given to any other nation. Their history alone is told in Old Testament narrative and prophecy; other nations are mentioned only as they touch the Jew. It appears, also, that all the communications of Jehovah to Israel as a nation relate to the Earth. If faithful and obedient, the nation is promised earthly greatness, riches, and power; if unfaithful and disobedient, it is to be scattered "among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other" (Deut. 28:64). Even the promise of the Messiah is of blessing to "all the families of the Earth." 

Continuing his research, the student finds mention in Scripture of another distinct body, which is called the church. This body also has a peculiar relation to God and, like Israel, has received from Him specific promises. But similarity ends there, and the most striking contrast begins. Instead of being formed of the natural descendants of Abraham alone, it is a body in which the distinction of Jew and Gentile is lost. Instead of the relation being one of mere covenant, it is one of birth. Instead of obedience bringing the reward of earthly greatness and wealth, the church is taught to be content with food and raiment, and to expect persecution and hatred; it is perceived that just as distinctly as Israel stands connected with temporal and earthly things, so distinctly does the church stand connected with spiritual and heavenly things. 

Another distinction between Israel and church is that as Israel is temporal, it was governed by laws but church is not, Church is by righteousness. Law imposes restrictions upon personal activities but righteousness does not imposes any restriction upon persons but persons should do it themselves from his own conviction of righteousness. Nothing, except God, controls them from outside. That is why Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. “ Means, it is more personal. The truth should set the person free, neither his father, his brother, his sister, his/her spouse, nor anyone else. The disciples of Jesus are not controlled by anyone to that extend, but by the word of God, the righteousness. That is the situation in Church but not in Israel and in Old Testament. Do we think that Jesus was unaware of Judas’ activities? Was it the lack of teaching or the lack of spirituality of Jesus that deviated Judas from the way? No, Jesus didn’t put any restriction upon him. Why? Not restrictions, controls, laws, but righteousness that comes from personal conviction. That righteousness leads everyone in Church, no one else. If something else or some one else is leading anyone, then he is actually not in The Church.The only thing others can do upon a person is teach and advice, the rest of the matter belongs to the person. 

Most of those who claim they are in The Church and follow Jesus are actually not. By lip they are in Church by heart they are in Israel and that’s time has over. These people are neither in the Kingdom of heaven nor in the Kingdom of Israel and are on the way of destruction.

Mathew Chapter 7 continues….3

In the verses 15 to 20 Jesus reminded us about false prophets. Here in theses verses, 21 to 23, also he presents the same truth in a different way.  We don’t misunderstand that false prophets means some people with different doctrines. They are the people with same doctrine with different intentions. Jesus knew it very well from the beginning itself, from that desert. These people give primary importance for material side of life and secondary for spiritual, means spirituality is for material life and its prosperity and material is not for spiritual life. All their spiritual activities are to flourish their material side of life. Otherwise, all their activities are to flourish ‘Kingdom of Matter’ or ‘Kingdom of Material’.

When we look back to the human history we can see one truth that, whatever development human effort has achieved that has never taken him to a point of satiation. The more material development he achieved the more was the greed he maintained for it.  Why? We needn’t carry out a research for the answer. By material development satiation or joy is not possible, that is the fact. The satiation or joy is not a material fact. Means it cannot be achieved by the development of ‘Kingdom of Matter’ or ‘Kingdom of Material’ but by the development of some other Kingdom which is not ‘Matter’ or which is not the matter of Material and which satiation or joy belongs to. Means a Kingdom independent of matter exists where plenitude and prosperity is a non-material affair, where primary consideration is for non material side and secondary for material side of life. This Kingdom is known as ‘Kingdom of heaven’ in this Book, Mathew. Here the material facts do not limit or control the emotional realm which comprises joy, love, compassion etc. Actually this emotional Kingdom is heavenly one, material side of life is controlled or limited by this emotional Kingdom. Without material and material existence, experiencing the ultimate joy for ever is known as salvation. Here in this Kingdom people practice the life of salvation and life for salvation. A man who is in Kingdom of Matter always works for the prosperity and plenitude in terms of material wealth. Means he finds values in processed materials and structures. But the man who belongs to Kingdom of heaven sees material values as the essential for material existence. And he doesn’t find any meaning in hoarding these values, as it in excess will not make life in excess or eternal. So the matter of Kingdom of heaven is not building up material world but building up a non-material world means a realm of material detachment. 

As we see, the Kingdom of heaven can also be defined as an emotional realm where love, compassion and other positive emotions prevail and thereby relations among people become genuine and fast independent of material aspects.  A man in this Kingdom is rich when his emotional relations - means relation based on unconditional love, compassion etc – are widely spread. He is rich when he has love and compassion towards everyone, without self-interest, without vested interests. So the man who inherit Kingdom of Material works for material wealth whether he a believer or not, but one who inherit Kingdom of Heaven works for these kinds of emotional wealth as mentioned above. That’s why Jesus said indicating false ones as follows in verses 21 to 23.

21  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Many are believers but what the motivation behind the belief? These believers pray lengthy prayers and preach lengthy sermons and there is no shortage of miracles. But there is shortage of something. That is the ‘Will Of God’. For, all these people perform everything according to their will, giving importance for their life, self-interested, they are self-centered, and so they belong to Kingdom of Material. On the other hand, some believers perform not much big things. They love people and make relations for nothing. They remind other people the need to love one another. They even travel simply to make such loving relations and to make awareness in people about this loving Doctrine. Often, their lives are like that of nomads. They are not concern about miracles and lengthy blabla sermons full of weighty words but the words they deliver are full of love and compassion, free of cost. An outside ‘Will’, divine love, always motivates them. This ‘Will’ outside them is the ‘Will Of God’ that prevails in non-material Kingdom or in Kingdom of Heaven, because it has no material interest.  So only these kinds of people enter there. Others are workers like any other workers working for their material existence. To that extend we can call them spiritual labors, beyond that nothing else. They  spoil not only themselves but  those who follow them.