My answer to your questions and other ramblings

[G. Driggs]

Excellent post Craig and I couldn't agree more. Not because your super mod, but like Moises said, the content and attitude not your title. And because I feel the same way. Right or wrong? I dunno.

Personally I could care less what I know or don't know concerning all the mysteries of God, as that is not for me. What matters to me is that God will cause me to die to self, and learn to love. Honestly I prolly wont make it in this age. I hope Im wrong, but that is not up to me.

Someday though some great day when this evil experience is all over and Im finally saved and in the image of God I'll wish I had suffered more it's gonna be so good. This evil experience is nothing compared to what God has in store for humanity. Life is so short, just like my foresight.

1Co 8:1 Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.

1Co 13:2  And though I have prophecies, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so as to move mountains, and do not have charity (love), I am nothing.

1Co 12:31  But zealously strive after the better gifts. And yet I show to you a more excellent way.

http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,5312.0.html

ONE GIANT PARABLE

The more I teach the more simple I'm going to make this Bible.  It's all one thing.  You don't have to know what all those words mean individually and in a technical way, I mean it's good if you do, but you don't have to.  The point is, before you have to know all that, I'll show you what all these words mean.  Then if you want to take your time and study all of them out, you can.  But you'll already know, you say, 'Ray how can I know what all those words mean if I don't understand all the definitions of all of them?'  I'm going to show you (in future articles), and you'll be amazed.  Because it's like I've been saying for so long, all this, it's all one thing.  I came up with this, maybe seven years ago, the Bible is one giant parable, so all you have to do is understand the one parable.

Jesus Christ taught many parables, we have about 40 in the Bible.  But there are many more that He taught that are not in there, probably hundreds of parables.  On one occasion He said how is it that you don't understand this parable?  How then will you understand all parables?  (Mark 4:13).
Oh what a key that was!  You mean if I understand this one, I could understand the others too?  Well why is that?  Because they are all the same.  All the parables are the same parable, they are all the same.  Oh they come at it from different angles and so on.

It's like you go to the Grand Canyon, it's all one canyon, you know.  You can take pictures at sunrise or at noonday or take pictures at sunset.  You can go down into it with the mules or you can go from the edge or you can go from the north side or the west side or from a airplane or helicopter.  Now they even have a glass bottom floor, where you can walk out and look straight down.
But it's all the same Grand Canyon, is it not.  So you can view it from many different angles.  Once you become familiar with the Grand Canyon, you can look at pictures from a helicopter or from this end or that end, from the bottom looking up or from the top looking down and you will know that it's the Grand Canyon.  Even if all the pictures are angled differently and there's different lighting, you'll still know it's the grand canyon.

So the more we study this Word of God, the more we see it's all one thing.  There is one giant parable and it is this.

Gen 1:26  "And God said, Let Us be making man in Our image..."

There it is!
You know the teaching is, that that has already happened.  No it didn't!  That is why they don't understand the Bible, because it didn't happen back then.  Only the physical aspect was back then.
First the physical then the spiritual, that's the principle.  If you don't believe that principle, how can you believe the Bible?  Why do you think the Bible teaches principles, if they aren't true.  If it is true, why don't you believe it?  Does the physical come first and then the spiritual?  Yes it does.  That's the principle of God and so He's making man into God's image.  Are we spirit?  No.  Is God spirit?  Yes.  Well if He is making us into HIS image, don't you think this stinking, rotten, carnal minded body is going to have to change, if we are going to be made into His image?  We know it hasn't happened yet.  That's why people kill each other and hate each other and all the misery and stuff we have among society, because they are not in His image.  These people are not in the image of God!  But one day they will be.

It doesn't matter what subject we study it always goes back to that one thing.  What is it that God is doing?  He's changing us from what we are, into what we are going to be.  That whole thing is what we call life, creation, existence, the plan of God.  It's all that ONE thing, all of it.  You've got to relate everything that there is in the universe to this one thing that God is doing.
He's changing humanity into His own image!

This is why I'm hear, to discuss the things Ray taught from Scriptures with others who believe the same. Everything I have every learned about God I learned from God through Ray. I cant do or say anything on my own. That is very humbling to know, to know I know nothing at all. That's kinda square circle-ish isnt it?

[Wonone]

'The greatest thing that Ray showed me was Christ's message of the good news; we need to die to self, become vessels of God, less of us and more of Christ in us. What we should be asking is how to be a light in this existence, salt in this world. Ray showed me through scripture that God really is my Father, God really is love, God has a perfect plan to create His children, and God is not going to roast anyone in hell for eternity.' -- Amen.

[Ian 155]

As someone has pointed out, Paul was taken to the third heaven and shown things that he could not repeat. As a result of such revelation knowledge,

Correction -  this was not Paul this was someone Paul knew..

2-Corinthians 12-1
"I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven".

It was Paul.  Paul was being modest in not directly mentioning himself.

Much was revealed to Paul.  If you throw in the Book of Hebrews, Paul was used to write half the New Testament.  Paul suffered a lot.  Much was given to Paul, much was expected.

2Co 12:5  Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. 

This a very, very minor matter.  It was Paul who received the visions and revelations.  He was countering false apostles who talked about their spiritual visions.  Paul didn't like to boast about himself, so he used a literary device of speaking in the third person about the visions that Jesus gave him.

If you really want the truth about this minor point, then read down a little further to 2 Corinthians 12:7, where Paul states he was the one who received the revelations, and God gave Paul a "thorn in the flesh" so he wouldn't be exalted above measure.

Hey John,I have done a bit of looking into this matter, approx 14 years earlier [I Knew a man in Christ] Paul was dragged outside of Lystra and stoned - he was left for dead - this place was not the stoning ground in Jerusalem where a stone was initially dropped from a 14ft tower on to the person,which then crushed his /her ribs and then everyone around was to throw stones at any part of the body, Paul was taken outside the city of Lystra and stoned and presumed dead  - after prayer by the disciples, the next day he Paul was able to go on to Derbe.

After being stoned in those days or in any day, you do not just arise and walk 30 miles to the next town...

Point is Paul, left for dead - in that moment or time it is possible he had that experience then.

so thanks for the inf

[gmik]

I have really enjoyed reading this thread.

i tend to be one that loves "new" revelations..but I think living life day by day, dying to self, growing in Christ, helping others etc is a biiiiiig revelation....one that for me, is very hard to do....

thanks craig, and all, for the reminder