#bornagainbelievers

[bernardo1969]

The apostle Paul, as a good apostle of the Gentiles, taught about the importance of the new life in Christ and the… by bernardo69

Paul, the apostle of the gentiles, in his epistle to the Galatians, developed his theology about the doctrine of justification, and the importance of the gift of faith over the law of Moses to achieve the gift of eternal life and the salvation of the human soul. Paul spoke of a new Israel, no longer based on the criteria of the flesh but on the criteria of the spirit: "Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham" Galatians 3:7-8. Through the gift of faith man knows Jesus, the apostle taught, and enters into the Kingdom of God, this new Israel according to the spirit, and the gift of faith is associated according to Paul with a very important visible sign, the baptism. To be Christians born again and from above by faith, is to accept the change that baptism proposes, the passage from a life full of sins to a life of righteousness ("Do to others what you would have them do to you" Matthew 7:12), in this sense the baptism is a spiritual passover. Clothing on that faith in Christ through baptism means putting aside everything that ties us to the world such as vanity and lust, to accept that grace that frees us and grants true happiness. With these words Paul explained, the meaning of being a born again christian: "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" Galatians 3:26-29.

[bernardo1969]

The Gospel of John, unlike the other Gospels, does not tell us about the childhood of Jesus, the Gospel of John begins… by bernardo69

The gospel of John does not begin by telling us about the childhood of Jesus or his family genealogical tree, as other gospels do; but rather this gospel begins by describing the divine nature of Jesus. According to this disciple of Jesus, the wisdom or the verb is the beginning of all things, and this wisdom was personified in a man, our Lord. And this teaching is extremely important for the christian spirituality, because the apostle John presented Jesus to us as the "son of man" with the seven affirmations of the “I am”, the Kingdom of God, the domain or empire of the divine perfections, has a double meaning, is the man who seeks the perfections of God, is the man who became "son of God", and vice versa, is God who becomes "son of man", with the personification of the divine perfections in Jesus. And Jesus as the "son of man", as the new Adam, came by his grace and spiritual love (Agape), to teach all of us who believe in him by faith, a new way to achieve the true spiritual life, the eternal life or contemplative activity. That is why Jesus calls us to choose between two paths, we lead a life full of sin or we live a life of righteousness as in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). And with this new spiritual path, all those who accept him as a personal savior, as the light of the world, receive the grace to be called "children of God" and children of Abraham according to the spirit, and not "children of the world". With these words the apostle explained this spiritual truth: "The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God" John 1:9-13.

[bernardo1969]

God calls the prophet Ezekiel "son of man" in the Bible, this is so because Ezekiel is a semi-divine person, like the… by bernardo69

Ezekiel began to develop his prophetic activity just before the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah at the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar, and he is one of those deported to Babylon, thus the prophet accompanies the chosen people during their exile, instilling in them the hope of a better future despite adversity and destruction. Ezekiel is a prophet who receives the title of "son of man", this title refers to the spiritual condition of Ezekiel, the prophet is a manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven, Ezekiel does in himself the perfections of God, as well as a man can be called "son of God", a representation of "God" can be called "son of man". This title will be used later by our Lord Jesus in the gospels, along with the 7 "I am". God entrusts a mission to this "son of man", the people had fallen into idolatry and hardened their hearts towards the Lord, sins that according to the prophet should be redeemed: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled againts me" Ezekiel 2:3. Ezekiel explains to us that the prophets in the Bible, are first of all, like spiritual sentinels who must give the alert when danger approaches; a prophet must redeem, teach, guide, reveal the hidden of God, and give a constant example of devotion and mercy (compassion, kindness) towards the Lord and the neighbor, this is how the Bible explains Ezekiel's task, for the Lord all Israelites are people consecrated to holiness: "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ´You wicked person, you will surely die,´ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved" Ezekiel 33:7-9.

[bernardo1969]

The spirit is the inner teacher - Fifth Gospel

The intelligible truths, that is, those truths that can be contemplated only by reason, they can be solely taught by the inner teacher that lives within us

Jesus presents to us the promise of the Holy Spirit as the inner teacher who must guide the disciples and the holy church after his departure. The Kingdom of God is not simply a philosophical doctrine, as many pagans who heard of the existence of the gospel thought, it is also the action of the spirit among the followers of Jesus. The church as such only makes sense through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The times of the Holy Spirit begin after the celebration of Pentecost: “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” Acts 2:1-4. Jesus anticipates moments of difficulty for the disciples, the Kingdom of Heaven has many enemies, but the spirit as an inner teacher is the one that has the true science, that is why in the gospel Jesus clarifies that Christians have only one teacher and this is God: "But you are not to be called ´Rabbi,´ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ´father,´ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah." Matthew 23:8-10. The Holy Spirit as such is present in all adult Christians, that is, in those who have completed their spiritual development and have been born from above: "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit" John 3:5 The inner teacher not only instructs us, but also frees us from the action of sin, and gives us divine affiliation by making us similar to God: “Be holy, because I am holy” Peter 1:16.

[bernardo1969]

The Kingdom of God is a mystery that the disciples cannot fully understand, many of the teachings of Jesus are dark… by bernardo69

Jesus is a spiritual man, a person filled with the spirit of wisdom, explaining the Kingdom of God to rational people, people in whom the soul prevails and the loving passion that comes from philia, the love mixed with virtue and friendship. The disciples cannot understand the depth of the words of their master and Jesus knows it, they have not received the holy spirit, the spirit and inner master that reveals all the mysteries in the heart of man, because with him we perceive the world with the mind of God: "To the pure, all things are pure" Titus 1:15. That is why Jesus says goodbye at the last supper with the promise of the Holy Spirit after his resurrection and ascension to heaven, but this promise is given to them to the extent that they can understand. Jesus clarifies many things to the disciples, but others cannot be explained, but instead, they have to be experienced internally to be understood, that is why the Kingdom of God, the dominion of the divine perfections, is a mystery, as the depth of the oceans. The gospel then tells us the explanations of our Lord Jesus: "But now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ´Where are you going?´ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. ´I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.´" John 16:5-12.