GOD IS FATHER

The primary revelation of the New Testament is that God is a Father to mankind.  Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus made continual reference to God as "Abba," (the Aramaic equivalent to "papa") and even instructed His disciples to address God in their prayers as "Father." The apostle John, who bus that we have the authority to become God's children through faith.  In other systems of faith, man aspires towards indentured servitude to an unseen, distant God. However, those who have been conformed to the image of His Son have the unique privilege of calling God "Dad."  

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If God is Father, then we can know certain things about Him. First, God loves mankind as would an earthly father love his own children. When we stray, God patiently awaits our return home, and toils for our rescue when lost.  Furthermore, Jesus tells us that our Father has knowledge of our needs before we ask, and is committed to meet our needs through prayer. Secondly, we are heirs to God's Kingdom and hold an active share in expressing His dominion over the world. Thirdly, God is both willing and able to care for His creation, including us; therefore, we can trust that God holds together - for good - all threads of life, for the outcome of salvation.

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Matt. 6:8-9; John 1:12; Rom. 8:17; Luke 15:4-7; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9: Luke: 11:11; Gen. 1:26-28; Rom. 8:28

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JESUS IS CHRIST

When Christ appeared in its midst, humanity beheld the glory as uniquely found in God. Jesus is the exegesis of God's grace, and lived as a testament to it. fHe is the consummate expression of God's image in man. He walks in perfect stead with the will of God, and therefore when we gaze upon him, we see clearly the Father. In him, we bear witness to our former shared glory in Eden. He lived as a teacher of God's truths, and died as a witness to God's justice and mercy. Through His righteousness, we can strive towards God's original vision for humanity - apart from death and sin; for this reason he is called the firstborn from the dead. He is anointed king of God's Kingdom, 

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Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3; Jn. 1:18; Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3; Jn. 1:18

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GOD'S SPIRIT IS HOLY

The Holy Spirit of God first hovered above the waters of Creation. That same Spirit was poured into the nostrils of man, and became his animating force - the breath of life. When sin claimed the world in Noah's day, God proclaimed that His Holy Spirit could no longer abide in man, and it was promptly withdrawn. When Jesus was glorified in death, and exalted to the right hand of God, he sent forth the Holy Spirit to live within man once more.  In accordance with His prophetic word, God once again hosted His Holy Spirit in man, and it guided him into all truth. 

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Gen 1:2; Gen. 2:7; Gen. 6:8; John 14:26; Acts 2:1-4; Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17

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PARADISE IS HOME

Many have made much about the idea of "going to Heaven." In fact, 

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MAN IS A SON 

The psalmist says of man, "You have made him a little lower than God, you have crowned him with glory and honor." In the beginning, man walked with God in the cool of the day in Eden.  He looked to God as his Father, and because he was a son, he shared in all that God had wrought in the earth.  Above all, man was gifted with the very impress of God's image, and was an heir and authority over the entire cosmos.  Animal kind and even the angels ministered to him, and Creation yielded to him its fruit. However, the nature of man was forever altered with the introduction of sin into his world. 

In the beginning, God brought forth a son in Adam. However, Adam rebelled and left the side of his God in pursuit of sin.  From that point onward, man begat sons and daughters in his own fallen image.

Until Christ appeared in our midst, we had never glimpsed the glory of Almighty God; our only examples were murderous and adulterous men. 

Ps 8:5

Luke 6

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SIN IS DEATH

In the bible's first mention of sin, God warns man that the imminent threat of an invisible foe lies in wait:  "Sin is crouching at your door, and it desires you. However, you must rule over it." Because he fails to rule over his lusts, it is sin that rules over man.  Man invites murder into his world and must spend his days as a vagabond and a wanderer without a home in the earth.  Jesus would later explain that the inward sin leads to the outward consequence of murder.  Sin can be made to appear alluring, but it does not give; it only knows how to take, and it will do so until nothing is left. The wages of sin is death. 

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Gen. 4:6-12; Matt. 5:21-22; Rom. 6:23

THE SCRIPTURES ARE FROM GOD

The scriptures comprise the written record of God's history with man.  

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THE GOSPEL

The Gospel of God is multifold. First and foremost, the cosmic "good news" is that God has once again entered into man's domain by bringing forth His kingdom to earth. He has achieved this primarily through the advent of His Son - the Christ. "No one has ever perceived the things of God, but the unique God who resides in the heart of God Himself has made Him known."  

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REPENTANCE

The prophets of old, from  Abraham to Jesus, were consistently called out of their places of comfort in order to begin the process of reorientation towards God.  Today's believers are similarly commanded to to step away from themselves in order to meet God in a new place - with a new mind.

 

That involves a rethinking of core ideas and values concerning self, the world and, of course God.  The premise is this:  we have not perceived the things of God, and the more invested in self we are, the less likely we are to recognize Him.  Therefore, we are called into repentance, and there begins the long journey to a renewal of mind.

Jesus is the one about whom the Law and the Prophets spoke. Jesus is the Way back to God. 

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ETERNAL LIFE STARTS NOW

In the first act of disobedience, man took to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  In knowing evil, man became acquainted with death.  That which we are most intimate with, is our due reward. 

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Jesus tells us that eternal life (both a qualitative and quantitative description) is found in knowing God.  The act of turning from evil into God, possible because of the Son, brings us back to the highest and most enduring form o flife.