GET OUT OF THE SHACKLES! - WHY HOPEFULLY ONESIMUS?

"Ave Christus, morituri te salutamus!"

"Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God." (Galatians 4:7/NASB)

"For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:14/NASB)

I wil begin posting/re-posting this once a month so anyone reading will understand my blog title and my purposes for creating this blog. So why hopefully Onesimus?  Why such an odd name for a blogspot?  Other then the fact that I am a somewhat odd person there are actually some very good reasons for the name.  It is a title that will (hopefully) stick in your mind and the name actually comes from another blog that I have posted on one of my other blog sites (these no longer exist).  The idea came to me when I began writing that post and I decided to use it for this blog.  Please let me explain more fully;

First; Onesimus has a meaning and it is simply this-"useful".  I am hoping that what is written here will prove to be useful to whoever reads this blog.  Hence the title "hopefully Onesimus=hopefully useful"...at present I am the only one reading this blog (I hope that changes)

Second Point; Onesimus is/was a name.  I don't think anyone names their children Onesimus today (I could be very wrong).  It is Greek, which explains a lot of things as far as names go.  You know those ancient Greeks, they always had to have some greater purpose or meaning in all they said or did.  In this case it was naming someone that ended up being a slave.

Third; A slave named Onesimus did actually exist.  In Paul's letter to Philemon he specifically discusses an escaped slave by the name of-Onesimus-...Onesimus was the slave of Philemon.  Paul is urging Philemon to accept Onesimus back as a brother in Christ.  He is also sending Onesimus back to Philemon.  It is an interesting situation with a great deal of moral and ethical implications, but those will be discussed in other posts.  Lets just say that I can definitely identify with Onesimus (as I think most of us can) after all we are all slaves to something or someone...it's simply a matter of who or what.

"Simul iustus et peccator"*
*Martin Luther

image source;
Get Out of the Shackles - wallpaper

Pt4 KNOWING AND USING WHAT GOD HAS SAID/YOUR BIBLE 

"Ave Christus, morituri te salutamus! "

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Indeed, has God said, "You shall not eat from any tree of the garden"?' The woman said to the serpent, 'From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die." ' " Genesis 3:1-3/NASB

If Eve was simply repeating what was given to her second hand then her source (Adam) is just as responsible for her misquotation as is she.  As stated before this reflects on Adams relationship with God and his relationship with God effects his ability to be the head of the home/spiritual leader* and his ability to cover and protect* Eve.  This is seen in Genesis 3 immediately after Adam and Eve have disobeyed God ;

"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings." (Genesis 3:7/NASB)

Juxtapose this with what was stated earlier in Genesis;

"And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." (Genesis 2:25/NASB)

It is obvious from Genesis 2 that both Adam and Eve were able to see they were naked, but there is a difference between the first account (Genesis 2:25) and the second (Genesis 3:7) in how they see.  The difference was/is Adam and Eve's relationship with God had been severed (not entirely).  Adam, and consequently Eve, chose to remove himself/themselves from God's authority.  When they removed themselves from God's authority/spiritual covering their relationship with each other was affected. The natural is simply reflecting the spiritual, i.e. once Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they realized they had no covering, no one over them to protect them and keep them safe.  John Wesley says it best;

"...they saw that they were naked, that is, that they were stripped, deprived of all the honors and joys of their paradise state, and exposed to all the miseries that might justly be expected from an angry God; laid open to the contempt and reproach of heaven and earth, and their own consciences."

http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?com=wes&b=1&c=3

The questions arise, "Wasn't Eve the first to partake of the forbidden fruit and therefore she made her own decision and was not following Adam?  And couldn't Adam have simply chosen not to partake even after Eve had done so?"  The answer to the first is yes and no - the answer to the second is yes - which shows how the natural order, the order that God had set for the family and home was not followed.  If we honestly look at what happened we see that Eve was simply following Adam's lead.  While it is true that Eve was the first to partake and is ultimately responsible for her own actions (we are all ultimately responsible for our own actions);

" 'But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.' "
(Matthew 12:36,37/NASB)

"For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS." (Matthew 16:27/NASB)

"So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God." (Romans 14:12/NASB)


it is also true that by answering the second question - "And couldn't Adam have simply chosen not to partake even after Eve had done so?" - in the affirmative we see that Adam was not following Gods order.  Instead of following Gods directive and standing on Gods word Adam chooses to follow his wife into sin.  In essence by "not following"  God Adam shows lack of leadership which opens the door for Eve to "do her own thing". 

Furthermore, where was Adam in the first place and why didn't Eve call out to Adam when the serpent began to question God's word?

"When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate." (Genesis 3:6/NASB)

Apparently at some point Adam joined Eve whether it was during or after her conversation with the serpent will be discussed in a later post.  At this point what is important is Adam failed to follow God's instructions which lead to him failing in his role as the leader and protector and consequently Eve became the leader and Adam the follower.  This is/was not what God had intended then or today.

In order for someone to be a great leader, they must learn to follow, but it is not necessary for a great follower to learn to lead.

"Simul iustus et peccator"*
*Martin Luther

image source;
http://enchantedgal.livejournal.com/1450.html
original art by Kimberly Crick

Pt3 KNOWING AND USING WHAT GOD HAS SAID/YOUR BIBLE 

"Ave Christus, morituri te salutamus! "

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Indeed, has God said, "You shall not eat from any tree of the garden"?' The woman said to the serpent, 'From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die." ' " Genesis 3:1-3/NASB

So we see that it is man's tendency to wander away from God while it is in God's nature to reach out to man and save man from himself (see part two of this post).  If Eve misquoted God because she simply repeated what was given to her second hand (from Adam), then we begin to see a schism in Adam's relationship with God.  We begin to see Adam possibly interjecting himself into what God has said, or we see Adam "mishandling"  God's word due to misunderstanding, misinterpretation or forgetfulness on his part (forgetfulness is highly unlikely from a perfect man with a perfect brain).  Irregardless of his motivations we see Adam "not following" as he should and if Adam added to God's word then there are consequences and/or judgement; see Deut. 4:1,2, Prov. 30:5,6, Gal. 1:6-12 & Rev 22: 18,19.
We must be careful and not misunderstand, this is not to say that Adam sinned against God by adding to His word - obviously the first recorded sin in the Bible is when Adam and his wife Eve chose to disobey God by partaking of the forbidden fruit - what is being said is adding to God's word may result in sin and definitely has consequences.  Furthermore, what is being discussed is possible reasons why Eve said something different then what was said to Adam and the consequences of not knowing and misusing God's word.

Throughout scripture there are examples of the importance of following God's instructions, e.g.;

If Noah had not followed God's instructions on building the ark he (and his family) would not have survived - Genesis 6:13-22.  If Moses and the children of Israel had not followed God's instructions concerning Mt.Sinai many would have died - Exodus 19:1ff.  If Joshua and the people of Israel had not followed God's instructions they would not have defeated Jericho - Joshua 6:1ff.  If those who were on the ship with Paul had not followed God's instructions they would not have all survived - Acts 27:1 - 28:2.  In all these examples (there are many more) it was necessary for those involved to follow God's instructions without any type of deviation.  When there were deviations (as in the case of Acts 27) there were serious consequences.
The point is simply this - we are fallen and consequently our natures are fallen.  Unlike Adam we do not get to see God face to face.  So God has provided other means for us to know Him.  One of those means is His word.  Therefore it is understandable that God places a premium on memorizing, knowing, and understanding His word;

"You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.  You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates," (Deuteronomy 11:18-20/NASB)

See also - Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1-2 & Proverbs 2:1-6

Only through His grace and Holy Spirit can we practically apply His word to our lives, but if we do not read, memorize and know His word then how will the Holy Spirit help us to grow and practically apply His word in our lives?

"Simul iustus et peccator"*
*Martin Luther

image source;
http://enchantedgal.livejournal.com/1450.html
original art by Kimberly Crick

Pt2 KNOWING AND USING WHAT GOD HAS SAID/YOUR BIBLE 

"Ave Christus, morituri te salutamus!"

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Indeed, has God said, "You shall not eat from any tree of the garden"?' The woman said to the serpent, 'From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die." ' " Genesis 3:1-3/NASB

So why did Eve misquote God?
Was it deliberate as was briefly discussed in the first part of this post? Or was it one of the other three reasons listed below;
Was she simply repeating what was given to her second hand?
Was she simply "interpreting" what God had said?
Or did she not accurately remember what was said?

If it is the case of the second question;
"Was she simply repeating what was given to her second hand?"
then there are multiple problems - 1. her source (Adam) added to God's words which brings consequences and/or judgement (see preceding post), 2. her source, Adam, fails as the head of the home/spiritual leader and her protection/covering (this is the biblical order of the family*), 3. this is a consequence of Adam not following and 4. all of this reflects on Adam's relationship with God.

Let us look at the last issue first - Adam's relationship with God - as this is the root of all the other problems, i.e. not following = not protecting/covering = not leading = misrepresenting God and His word.  First note that if Adam's relationship with God was beginning to become less then it should this would not be because of God as man has a tendency to wander;

"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5/NASB)

"...for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth;..." (Genesis 8:21c/NASB)

"All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;..." (Isaiah 53:6a/NASB)

See also - Jeremiah 17:9 & Romans 1:21-23 

While God has always been the one that reaches out to man.  He has always been the one to initiate and to save man - note later in Genesis chapter 6, the chapter preceding Genesis 8 and the second half of the verse in Isaiah;

"Then God said to Noah,...'Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch.' " (Genesis 6:13a, 14/NASB)

" God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh.' " (Genesis 9:12-15/NASB)

"...but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." (Isaiah 53:6b/NASB)

See also Jeremiah 17:10, 24, 25 & Romans 1: 19-20 

If Adam did repeat God's command and added to it then his relationship with God was not what it should have been, and if his relationship with God was not as it should be this is an issue with Adam and not God.

*NOTE; God has given all men/males the role of leader and protector.  In other words; by virtue of our gender God has given us these roles.  We are required to be leaders and protectors.  It was/is how God order(s) male/female relationships, marriage, fatherhood and society .  More on the roles of males and females will be briefly discussed in later posts.

"Simul iustus et peccator"*
*Martin Luther

image source;
http://enchantedgal.livejournal.com/1450.html
original art by Kimberly Crick

KNOWING AND USING WHAT GOD HAS SAID/YOUR BIBLE Pt1

"Ave Christus, morituri te salutamus!"

I was visiting one of my favorite websites and came across a video that was very informative. While watching the video presentation the speaker quoted this passage of scripture;

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Indeed, has God said, "You shall not eat from any tree of the garden"?' " Genesis 3:1/NASB

Note Eve's response;

"The woman said to the serpent, 'From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die." ' " (Genesis 3:2,3/NASB)

The first and last parts of her response;

"From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden,...You shall not eat from it...or you will die." (Genesis 3:2,3/NASB)

were, for the most part, dead on (no pun intended), but Eve interjects something in the middle - "or touch it" - something not originally said by God to Adam. Why, why was what Eve repeated different from what was stated by God?

"The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16,17/NASB)

When God gave instructions to Adam about the forbidden tree Eve was not there because she had not been created (Genesis 2:16-18/NASB). Yet, evidently somewhere between Genesis 2: 16-25 and Genesis 3:1-3 after Eve was created she was given God's instructions concerning the forbidden fruit. Unfortunately she misquotes what was said. This brings about some questions;
Was Eve deliberately adding to God's word?
Was she simply repeating what was given to her second hand?
Was she simply "interpreting" what God had said?
Or did she not accurately remember what He said?

This is unknown, what is known is when the serpent confronts her about it Eve misquotes what God had said to Adam. If her misquote is because of the first question; "Was Eve deliberately adding to God's word?", then this is dangerous as scripture warns of consequences and/or judgement for doing so;

"Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." (Deuteronomy 4: 1,2/NASB)

"I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book." (Revelation 22:18,19/NASB)

See also Proverbs 30:5,6 & Galatians 1:6-12

Furthermore, if Eve deliberately misquotes what God said to Adam then she has devalued God's word which reflects on her relationship with God.

"Simul iustus et peccator"*
*Martin Luther

image source;
http://enchantedgal.livejournal.com/1450.html
original art by Kimberly Crick