James 1:13 teaches that God cannot be tempted. Yet – clearly Jesus was tempted.

We could say that given that Jesus was tempted and resisted it, He thought it possible that He could succumb to it.

So from Jesus’ standpoint, it was epistemically possible for Him to sin. Although it was not metaphysically possible.

Read up on this in Morris’ The Logic of God Incarnate, pg 147-8.

Could this relate to the Free Offer – think about this later.

“Moses cried out to the LORD…”  ~ Exodus 8:12

“Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night.” ~1 Sam. 15:11

“Then he [Elijah] cried out to the LORD…” ~1 Kings 17:20

“Jabez cried out to the God of Israel” ~ 1 Chronicles 4:10

“Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him.” ~ 2 Chronicles. 18:31

“King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven.”
~ 2 Chron. 32:20

“To you, O LORD, I [David] called; to the Lord I cried for mercy” ~Psalm 30:8

“I [Asaph] cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.” ~Psalm 77:1

“I [Ezekiel] fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice…” ~ Ezekiel 11:13

“I [Amos] cried out, “Sovereign LORD, forgive!” ~Amos 7:2

“About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’” ~ Matt. 27:46

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears…” ~Heb. 5:7

~~~~~  A different kind of cry begins in Revelation ~~~~~

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language … And they cried out in a loud voice…” ~ Rev 7:9-10

“The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: ‘Amen, Hallelujah!’” ~ Rev. 19:4

Two Parts:

I’ve been thinking a lot about this issue, and thot I might post a note here.

The Woman With Bleeding – In Luke 8, we have the account of the woman who says to herself “if only I touch the hem of His garment, then I will be healed”. So she sneaks up from behind him.

My question is – why did she sneak up from behind him?

Some answers may be?

1. Patriarchical society…

Ok … what else?

2. Levitical code rules… on acct of which she was deemed unclean. She had a menstrual problem – it was not just hemophilia.

Ok … what else?

3. Just simply the nature of her problem. Its a bleeding discharge that she had for twelve years… and it is icky. Icky? Look – its not as if she had a sprained wrist or a bad back or something.

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4. I wonder also … could it also be something like this …

“I feel bad about who I am from deep within, so I will not approach Him from the front.”

So there is also something here about what women are told by society about what they ought to be or are supposed to be like – and when they don’t measure up…

I believe I’ve already blogged on this – altho I am not sure really. In any event, I need to expand on it and add a verse or two to it.

Stitch together the verse about broken cisterns, the fool says in his heart, and Romans 1:18 – the one about truth suppression.

Nascent thoughts …

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”  ~Ephesians 2:6

What does it mean to be seated in the Heavenly realms with Christ?

What does it mean for God to be seated up there in the Heavenly Realm? What does He see from high up there?

Sin, murder, war, love, random acts of goodness.

What does it mean for us to be seated up there with you?

It means for us to have a change in perspective? It means we see things differently.

It means for us to recognize that there are good people out there – and yet still they they are sinners.

It means to recognize that there people out there that alive – and yet still they are dead in their sins and trespasses.

It means for us to recognize that there are indeed beautiful days and beautiful places. And yet still the world is fallen.

It means as Paul says in Corinthians, that we regard no one worldly point of view.

When a person comes to the faith, it seems like a pretty ordinary. Yet – the heavenly perspective we have tell us that this is day and night difference. This person has been moved from darkness to light. When we are seated in the Heavens we see that this is what the angels rejoice over.

And even most importantly to be seated in the Heavens with Jesus  means that He really is near to us – right next to us. If anything happens in our lives, we can immediately turn to Him and tell Him what happened. This is prayer. Prayer is being seated in the Heavenly realms. It is being right there, right next to Jesus. It is responding to Him.

“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.” ~ 2 Cor. 5:16

1) If you have got a personal sin problem in your life, then you may find your prayers not getting answered.

2) If you have a sin problem in your life, that is between you and someone else, you may find your prayers not getting answered.

Take for example 1 Peter 3:7 -

“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

3) Finally if a people group that you are a part of has a sin problem with another people group, then both your people group and you yourself may find your prayers not getting answered.

I cannot think of a verse off hand, however, we can infer this from 1 Peter 3:7

So – it seems to me that one reason why Christianity did not progress at times in the history of the US is due to slavery, and later on due to the Jim Crow law. On the one hand, Christians (some) had it out against African Americans. On the other hand, they fought amongst themselves – this was the abolitionists vs. the pro-slavery Christians. This is not to say that the abolitionists were wrong, but their means could well have been wrong at times.

If the body of Christ is not united (for the right reasons), then barring a special dispensation of God, the Church will progress slowly.

The Word of God, i.e. the 2nd person of the Trinity, has two natures

The Word – the Bible is human and divine

The Church – the Body of Christ – is human and divine.

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“A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.” ~Psalm 90v.1

“Christ in us, the hope of glory” ~Col. 1:26

“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.” ~Rom. 8:9

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We live in God.

Christ lives in us.

The Holy Spirit lives in us.

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“Don’t you believe that I am in the Father , and that the Father is in me?” ~ John 14:10

Do they dwell in each other?

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“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” ~ 1 Cor. 12:27

What does this mean? I am the body of Christ, and yet, I am a part of the Body of Christ ? Like a crystal or a fractal?

“for the sake of His body, which is the Church” ~Col 1:24

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What I am trying to say but find that I am unable to – directly – so I  might have to drop the idea.

In some sense, (a) we dwell in Christ and (b) He also dwells in us.

I cannot find explicit Scriptural support for (a). I can infer it however… we often say (metaphorically?) after all that “we live in Christ”.

The three persons of Trinity are consubstantial (=same substance) with each other.  On account of Christ’s  humanity, the Church is consubstantial with Him.

I am in the Father and the Father is in me. —> mutatis mutandi (?) —-> I am in the Church and the Church is in me.

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It is an incredible thing to think that when we walk around and share our faith with people, we “carry’ within us, the Creator of the Universe.

“Abide in me…”

She said to herself, “if I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.” ~Matt. 9:20

What did she touch really?

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.” ~ Isaiah 6:1

Apparently, in OT times, the length of a robe was considered a sign of a king’s majesty and greatness. Can you imagine this King sitting on a throne, and a robe coming out from it that just takes over the room. It is red with all kinds of gold patterns on it.

“All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from palaces adorned with ivory
the music of the strings makes you glad.”
~ Psalm 45v.8