Craig, it's not that the elect cannot or do not sin, but they are the few that now have been lead to repentance and their sins are covered by the sacrifice of Christ.
Rom 4:7 "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
v. 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."
1John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
v. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
v. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
v. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Hi octoberose,
Here are excerpts from the article 'The Seven Symbolic Churches of Revelation.'
http://bible-truths.com/lake7.html -------------------
A LITTLE HISTORY OF GOD’S CHURCH
There is great debate over when the Church of God really started. I don’t see the problem myself, because the first mention of "the Church" is in Acts 7:38 where we read: "This is He [Christ, I Cor. 10:4] that was in the church in the wilderness…" (Acts 7:38). That is the first historical identification of a "church" in the Bible.
As you are all aware, the church came from the wilderness and finally had a permanent home headquartered in the Temple in Jerusalem. But, was as it a holy, righteous, God fearing church? No, contraire.’ It was utterly corrupt.
v
Many things that the Church today aspires to are the very things that Paul repented of and called "dung."
The "Jew’s religion" as Paul called it was the true Church of God that settled in Jerusalem after coming out of Egypt and out of the Wilderness. But within a short generation after our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection, the Church of God, at the temple in Jerusalem, came to an end. And to this day, there is no more sacrificing, there is no more a temple and there is no more a Levitic Priesthood.
Ironically, in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, "church" is mentioned in but two Scriptures. In Matt. 18:17 Jesus refers to "the church" and in Matt. 16:18 He refers to "My church" which He said HE would build. And the seven churches in Rev. 2 & 3 are representative of and the personification of the church that Jesus Christ built. It was THAT church that Jesus built, that Paul the Judaic Pharisee, persecuted. Jesus prophesied that the church would be persecuted and scattered:
"And Jesus said unto them, ALL YE shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, ‘I will smite the Shepherd [the Christ], and the sheep shall be SCATTERED" (Mark 14:27).
The church multiplied in numbers very quickly after the Resurrection, but persecution multiplied also:
SEVEN MEANS COMPLETE
The Sabbath or "seventh day" COMPLETES the week. Daniel’s famous prophecy was
"SEVENTY weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish [complete] the transgression, and to make an end [complete] of sins…" (Dan. 9:24).
Seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven plagues complete God’s wrath on mankind. Seven is used over six hundred times in Scriptures. Check if your wish, to see how many times seven shows completeness.
Therefore, how many churches complete THE WHOLE CHURCH OF GOD?
"…write in a book and send it unto the SEVEN churches which are in Asia…" (Rev. 1:11).
Were there not churches (congregations) also in Judea as well? Even in Rome? Why only the seven churches "in ASIA?" Because these seven congregations completed all that Jesus had to say to all congregations, everywhere. This is a COMPLETE revelation for ALL CHURCHES. These seven congregations had within them all of the sins, weaknesses, and shortcomings of all congregations everywhere during ALL TIME. I will make this abundantly and Scripturally clear. But on the positive side, all of the churches had at least a "few names" that were not spiritually defiled, and who will be in the first resurrection as Sons and Daughters of God to bring the rest of the harvest, the great fall harvest into the Kingdom.
These churches that personify in symbol all of God’s church for the past two thousand years, are in fact, the training ground and the proving ground for the elect. Coming out of this carnal system puts one among the called and the chosen and the VERY elect. Paul called it "the HIGH CALLING."
When you go through the messages to the seven churches, you will see a reiteration of the same problems in all the congregations.
It would take me twenty pages to reiterate all the similarities of both sins and rewards found in all seven church congregations, which represent the whole church of God throughout all generations. Here are just a few things that absolutely prove that these seven churches represent God’s complete church though all generations. This is not a dissected church divided up into particular or separate dispensations, ages, or eras.
v
ALL OVERCOMERS RECEIVE ALL REWARDS
The whole book of Revelation is a book about the LIFE OF JESUS written for:
"He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To HIM [any individual member of the churches] that OVERCOMES will I give to eat of the tree of life" (Rev. 2:7).
Is this the sole reward of "HIM that overcomes?" NO!
There’s more; there’s MUCH MORE:
"He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death" (Rev. 2:11).
"To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows saving he that receives it" (2:17).
"And he that overcomes, and keeps my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations" (2:26).
"He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raimnent; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before His angels" (3:5).
"Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new name" (3:11).
"To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne" (3:21).
No, the overcomers in one congregation, in one generation, don’t get one reward, while the overcomers in a different congregation, in a different generation, gets a different reward. No, a thousand times, "NO"—the overcomers in ALL congregations, in ALL generations, get ALL these rewards. Therefore the prophecies to these churches are written for all the churches of God through all generations.
Perhaps ALL can rejoice over the good news concerning our grand rewards. However, there is a dark side to the Churches of God—darker than Darth Vader—darker than midnight! "What’s good for the goose is good for the gander" (I wonder how easily that translates into other languages).
Just as all the rewards are promised to all the overcomers in all generations of the Church, so likewise, do all the sins and shortcomings apply to all the churches throughout all generations. And the sins and shortcomings of God’s Church are monstrous!
"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. For her sins have REACHED UNTO HEAVEN, and God has remembered her iniquities" (Rev. 8:5).
Yes, God is talking about His people, who are in His church, but … BUT, who must nonetheless, "REPENT" (Rev. 2:5 & 5, 16, 21, 22, 3:3, 19—seven times, COMPLETE REPENTANCE), and "COME OUT OF HER." Coming out of her is no small part of this "repentance."
v
As long as people think what Jesus taught was physical, and material, and literal, then they will never understand. Were the parables given to enhance understanding? I speak as fool (read Matt. 13). Were the teachings of Jesus, temporary, physical, literal? Let Him answer:
"…the words that I speak unto you, THEY ARE SPIRIT, and they are LIFE" (John 6:63)!
Parables have a SPIRITUAL meaning, and all of Christ’s teachings are SPIRITUAL. And that is because His very "words" ARE SPIRIT! Remember that Revelation is the "revelation OF Jesus Christ," it is HIS testimony. The "words" of His testimony are therefore, also, "SPIRIT."
So once again: "He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says…" What "who" says? Just "who" is doing the speaking here in Revelation? "…hear what THE SPIRIT says…" It is "the SPIRIT" speaking to the churches, and the words being spoken are those of Jesus, which "words are SPIRIT," and "the LORD [Jesus Christ] is that SPIRIT…" (II Cor. 3:17).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
mercy, peace and love
Kat
Author
Topic: Elect (Read 18421 times)