Is Jesus the Eternal Lord of All?

[zarlareignofthefairies]

There's a certain issue that's been puzzling me. Everyday I go into a field behind my house and worship and pray and confess scriptures but while I'm trying to focus this question has been nagging at me for several days and it's this, will Jesus always be Lord over all of God's creation? Ray did a wonderful job on his paper concerning the Trinity. It tormented me at first to find out that Jesus is a man and not the Supreme Deity and I have peace about it now but it left me confused. When Jesus delivers up the kingdom to God the Father will He still be our Master forever? Was Ray saying that someday we will be on the same level as Jesus? Also could someone further explain what it means for God to be " All in All '' ? 

Thanks,
Jonathan

[Kat]

Hi Jonathan,

This is from 'How did Jesus Do "The Father's Will"' transcript and it should help you with what will happen after God is "all in all." Also there is much in that transcript about who Jesus Christ is... just because He is not completely the Father, to me does not diminish who/what He is, as He is indeed the Almighty God of this Creation, the Father and Son are one.

http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php?topic=3633.0 ---

But God never changes, because He's already perfect, that's our God. But God's kingdom does change, but always in an upward, onward, forward, and larger proportion. 

Isa. 9:7, Of the increase of His government [empire, kingdom, Lordship, dominion], and peace [prosperity; friendly, health, safety, happiness, welfare, rest, peace, ect.-Strong's Hebrew dictionary] ...there shall BE NO END...

We can't really wrap our minds around the spiritual things of God, with a carnal brain. So you have to do the best you can with what God gave us, until He increases our mental capacity or spiritual capacity or whatever.  We are limited.
v

Some people get confused and think Christ is going to rule for ever and ever. But it doesn't say that, at all. You know His rule comes to an end in 1 Cor. 16:24.

Luke 1:33 And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever (eons), and of His kingdom there shall BE NO END.

Oh, He's going to rule endlessly. No, no, no. He's going to rule for the eons. Of His KINGDOM, not Christ as the king, but of the kingdom, that He did rule over, of that "kingdom there shall be no end."

1Cor 15:24 "then is the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God,
even the Father; when He makes to cease all rule and all authority and power."
v. 25 for it is right for Him to reign until He has put all the enemies under His feet.
v. 26  The last enemy made to cease is death.
v. 27  For He put all things under His feet. But when He says that all things have been put under His feet, it is plain that it accepts Him who has put all things under Him.
v. 28  But when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subject to Him who has subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all things in all.

He gives up this kingdom to God, He was the King of this kingdom and it comes a time when He gives it up to God, even the Father, when He shall have put down all rule, all authority, and all power and He must rule till (means until) He has put all enemies under His feet. He no longer rules because He doesn't require that type of rulership. 

That Christ rules with a rod of iron, the Kingdom that is established. That is the subduing of all humanity, all enemies, all angels in heaven, all subdued and coming under His authority and government. All is in peace now, no enemies, He then turns over the kingdom to His Father. He's no longer the King, the Father becomes the Patriarch of the family of God. And the kingdom just keeps growing and going and growing and going and like it said in Isaiah, it has no end.
v

Now there is no word in the Hebrew or Greek in the Bible that means forever, eternity, forever more, for ever and ever, there is no such word. So whenever endless time is meant you have to use more than one word. About the only phrase that is ever used to show that something doesn't ever come to an end, is just to say it, 'it never comes to an end.' 

There is no word eternity in the Bible, but it has the same meaning when it says, there shall be no end.
v

That spiritual Rock that they followed out of Egypt, through the wilderness for 40 years. That was Christ. But didn't Moses see God? 

Nobody has seen God (John 1:18; John 5: 37; 1 John 4:12). Oh he saw somebody, he saw Christ, in His glorified state. Jesus Christ is the GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. Jesus Christ WAS God and Jesus Christ IS God. And yes, Jesus always had and still has a God (Eph 1:17). 

But the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, has NO God. It was Jesus Christ (Elohim - US) who created the heavens and the earth and humanity, "...in OUR image."

In Rev. 19:16 it says Christ had, "on His thigh He has a name written," the Word of God. There's no getting around it, the Logos, the Word is Jesus Christ. The creator of heaven and earth is Jesus Christ. The creator of the human race in Jesus Christ. No man has ever seen God, only Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ when He acts on behalf of God, with the power of God, The knowledge of God, wisdom of God, and the love of God, with the strength of God and the character of God, IT IS GOD. But He is not the Father. He came to reveal the Father.

John 7:29  But I (Jesus Christ) know Him (the Father), for I am from Him, and He has sent Me.

Now you know the one that sends someone is greater than the one who was sent.

John 13:3  Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands,
and that He had come from God and went to God,
v

Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament. He is the reason Elohim is plural, "and God said let US," so the Father is doing the creating, but it is done through His Son, Jesus Christ, His first born. 

Now for scriptural proof, in Heb. 1:8 it says "Thy throne, O God, is for the eon of the eons ..." I know the Jehovah Witness and I've read all their stupid ways of trying to get around that verse, and it just won't smoke. It means what it says, God addresses Jesus Christ as "Thy throne, O God," and the O is in there, it's in the Greek and it's back in the Hebrew where this verse is quoted from as well.

Only God is to be worshipped, the leper came and worshipped Him (Matt. 8:2), the chief, worships Him (Mat. 9:18), and the woman came and worships Him (Matt 15:25).

Rev 1:8  I am the Alpha and the Omega ... the Almighty.

That's Christ - God. "And the Word was God," (John 1:1)

Thomas said, when he felt the holes in Christ's body,"My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). Christ did not correct Him.

Titus 2:13-14 The Great God and Savior Jesus Christ;  Who gave Himself for us...

So He is God, but He is not His own Father, okay. Jesus Christ came to reveal the Father, Luke 10:22; John 6:46;

Matt 11:27, Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son will reveal Him.

Nobody knew anything about God the Father, until Jesus Christ revealed Him. The only God that anybody knew was Jesus Christ.
v

Gal 1:4  who gave Himself for our sins TO DELIVER US from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

We will be delivered into the family of God, the firstfruits, because we are a type of firstfruit. "In the beginning (firstfruit) God Created the heaven and the earth."(Gen 1:1)

He is the Firstfruit of those who slept, He's the first of everything, that His name may be first preeminent above any and every and all, because He is the Creator. He emptied Himself, became the Savior of the world. He will forever be the preeminent One, in the whole universe. 

JESUS: The Personification of God's Will due to Humility

Because humility goes hand in hand with qualifying for the kingdom of God, doing the will of God, and being in the state of mind that understands spiritual things. If your not humble then it won't work.
 
A major point is Christ always did the Father's will, with humility. You have to understand Christ knew who He was, He knew He was the only begotten Son of God. He knew He was the spoken Word of God, the Logos, the Firstfruit, the Creator, the God of the Old Testament, He knew that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[repottinger]

Thank you for the great question, Jonathan, and for the fantastic, succinct-yet-informative passage by Ray, Kat!
Yours in Christ,
Randy 

[Kat]

When Jesus delivers up the kingdom to God the Father will He still be our Master forever? Was Ray saying that someday we will be on the same level as Jesus?

I don't think this point was really addressed in the other post, so I just wanted to add this from the trinity paper.

http://bible-truths.com/trinity.html -----------------------

Let it be known: NONE of these Scriptures take away from the glories of God's grandest achievements in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. His name is now and will forever be ABOVE ALL ELSE IN THE UNIVERSE! AMEN!
---------------------------------------------------------------

It is true that some day all in the human race will become sons/daughters of God, so yes equal in that aspect. But I don't think you can say we will be on the same "level" as in rank or position as Christ... He is and always will be above all else in the creation.

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[zarlareignofthefairies]

Hello all

Thanks Kat and Randy for the answers and kind words. I've been really busy Kat so I'm only just now able to start reading the links you gave me but just in case these questions aren't answered I wanted to ask two more. What did Jesus mean when He said '' before Abraham was I AM '' ? That seems to signify that Jesus was saying that He always existed from eternity past. Since Jesus came out of the Father what did He mean when He said '' I AM '' ? Also somewhere in Ray's papers ( I can't remember which one) he said this concerning man's ultimate destiny '' I don't know how I can make it any plainer 1 Corinthians 15:28 ' And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him that God may be ALL IN ALL ''. What does that mean '' all in all '' ? Is it saying that God will be everyone, like what Jesus said when He quoted Psalm 82:6 saying ''you are gods'' or that '' all will be God''  but just not on the same level as God and certainly not as great as Him or is it simply saying that God will be everything to everyone? Forgive me Kat if you already answered that in the link. I've been so busy I'm only just now able to come back here and start on it.

Now I can gladly say all blessings and praises to Jesus, forever Lord of all
Thanks, Jonathan

[zarlareignofthefairies]

Let me be more clear. Ray said God is not a closed Trinity but an expanding family so it seems to me that that is what he was saying, that we will all be God some day. So to put it like this '' that God may all in all'' or to rearrange the words ''that all may be God''.

It really seems blasphemous to say that and that's why I sounded so sheepish in my other posts but I thought I would just come right out and say it.

God bless you all with His grace, shalom, and truth,
Jonathan

[Dave in Tenn]

Certainly God will be everything to everybody, considering all is of God...without Him, nothing that has been made was made...in Him we live and move and have our being.  In that sense, God already IS everything to everybody.  Without Him--nothing.

But I also think you have phrased it well in your last post.  "God" is an expanding family.  If we are in that family (and we all surely will be) then we will all be God.  Now we have this Spirit of Adoption.  Now are we the children of God, but it does not yet appear what we shall be.  We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Jesus is first.  There can't be another first.  He will always be first.  How closely we will follow what He is remains to be seen.  We'll be LIKE Him.  Maybe I've got this a bit backwards, but it seems to me that there is something about seeing Him as He is that makes us 'like Him'.

If 'we' are gods, it begs the question:  what kind of god am I?  I'm not the kind of god that created all things, and by Whom all things exist/subsist.  Some things are His alone...but that doesn't mean we don't share in them.  We also 'form' and 'give birth to'.  What are we 'forming' and 'giving birth to'?

Concerning "I AM"...I think it's not correct to say 'eternity past' if it's referring to measuring  'infinite time' backwards.  God is the God of the ages.  The Ages are in Him.  I'd recommend this study and transcript.       

http://bible-truths.com/audio/Bible Study 11-30-08 Pt. 1.mp3
http://bible-truths.com/audio/Bible Study 11-30-08 Pt. 2.mp3

http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,10538.0.html

[Ian 155]

When Jesus delivers up the kingdom to God the Father will He still be our Master forever? Was Ray saying that someday we will be on the same level as Jesus?

I don't think this point was really addressed in the other post, so I just wanted to add this from the trinity paper.

http://bible-truths.com/trinity.html -----------------------

Let it be known: NONE of these Scriptures take away from the glories of God's grandest achievements in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. His name is now and will forever be ABOVE ALL ELSE IN THE UNIVERSE! AMEN!
---------------------------------------------------------------

It is true that some day all in the human race will become sons/daughters of God, so yes equal in that aspect. But I don't think you can say we will be on the same "level" as in rank or position as Christ... He is and always will be above all else in the creation.

mercy, peace and love
Kat

Im thinking Jesus is the "expressed" image of The Father and if so then ...

...2Co 3:18 Now we all, with uncovered face, mirroring the Lord's glory, are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the spirit."

perhaps the underlined could be spurious

[Kat]

Well Ian, Ray has spoken on this many times, in great detail, this is from the conference 'WHO AND WHAT IS JESUS? & WHO IS HIS FATHER?'

http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,4472.msg34711.html#msg34711 ---

Jesus Christ and God the Father ARE the Holy Spirit! Jesus Christ is that Spirit! 

John 16:7  ... I will send him (the Comforter) to you. v. 15  ... He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you.

What is He going to take of Christ? His Spirit. Where did Christ get that Spirit? From God the Father. But He is going to take of Christ, because it's going to be the personality of Christ, see. 

Paul didn't say, I'm crucified with God, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but the FATHER lives in me. No, it's, "I have been crucified with CHRIST, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but CHRIST lives in me." (Gal 2:20)  But see it's the personality of Christ, that is the spirit that lives in us and that spirit comes from God. So we can call it God's Holy Spirit, even though it's channeled through Christ. Jehovah /Elohim, God the Father(Elohim), you know. 

[Someone says;  Isa 9:6  For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be on His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.]
Some will say wait a minute, "The everlasting Father?" Christ (Jehovah) says, He was a Father to Israel. He's the eonian God to Israel. So are we understanding God better? 

Okay, let's take this a little farther. We read about God/Elohim, we learn about the Lord God - Jehovah/Elohim, and sometimes we hear about El. 
Now we know in the garden, Christ... though Jehovah is doing the talking, because no man has ever heard God the Father. So the Lord God (Jehovah/Elohim) said unto the woman, "and the Lord God said..." Why did He say 'said'? Because He's the spokesman, He's the Word. He's the Word of who?  Elohim, and He is Jehovah/Elohim and His Father is Elohim. There is only one Elohim. So it's the Lord God - Jehovah/Elohim.

When we come to the NT then we read about God. Jesus Christ said, they ask Him what is the greatest commandment, He said "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matt 22:37). The Greek says, you shall love the Kurios your Theos with all your heart and so on. 

Kurios/Theos... who was He talking about? The Father. He's quoting the OT, that comes out of Deuteronomy, where Jehovah Himself says, "You shall love the Lord your God" (Deu 6:5). Not Kurios/Theos, but Jehovah/Elohim. 

Well who are we to worship with all our heart? Jehovah/Elohim or Kurios/Theos of the NT, who we know is the Father! But Jehovah/Elohim (where it's quoted from the OT), is Jesus Christ. Who is it talking about? It's always talking about BOTH. ALWAYS!

Even though we give Jesus the designation Jehovah/Elohim, it still includes the Father. Why? Because there is only ONE Elohim! He is the Jehovah, one God - there is the Father, one God and together they are the one God. You just have to believe the scriptures. 

John 10:30  I and My Father are one.
v

God doesn't change. When you have perfect character, perfect love, as Christ and the Father say that they have, you don't change. There is no variableness of turning in God the Father and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Jehovah Elohim is the Lord God of Malachi 3:6, which is Jehovah Elohim and just as much God as Jehovah and "I change not."

Now He talked through that night about how He is in God and God is in Him. Then He starts to incorporate the disciples, now it's "those whom You have given Me." He's praying here in (John) chapter 17 after He said, return to the glory I had with You before the foundation of the world. 

Then He says, "those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as (in the same way, in like manner) We are one," (John 17: 20-22).

We don't become mass hypnotized robots, but we become one in spirit, one in perfection and one in love. He goes on to say, "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us..... that they may be one, even as We are one, I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one;" (John 17:21-22)

These are some of the reasons, you will be hearing me say more, everything is one. It all comes down to one thing. There is one God and God is above everything there is. There is one God. 

So everything really is ONE. All the other little twos, threes and fours are really of no consequence, compared to the ONE, see. The One, the all.
So we read in Ephesians, Paul understood this, he didn't copy it from some other place, he understood it. 

Eph 4:1-3  I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the calling with which you are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit...

See "the unity of the Spirit" there is the key, we are one in and through SPIRIT. We are individuals, I have my personality, somebody else has their personality and some don't have a personality, you know. But we're all individuals, but we can be all one in spirit, that is what binds us together as one, spirit. So "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit." 

Now the church is trying to create a unity. They want to get a united council of churches, they want to create a unity. But you can't create your own unity, there already is a unity. Now either you come into the unity or you don't. But you don't create a unity, because the unity is already there. Now if you are on the outside that's your problem. You don't create some unity with somebody else, you don't bring two heretics together in unity. The unity is there and we have to endeavor to keep it and stay within it.

So then He says in verse 4, "...the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (and harmony). There is one body..."   The body of Christ. 

We are all part of the body of Christ and in Corinthians Paul likened us to different parts of the body. You know one might be an ear, one might be the mouth, one might be the hand and one the foot. Maybe we think the foot is not that comely a part of the body, but it is an very important part.  Because the foot carries the hand wherever it has to go to do it's thing. All are very important parts of the body. 

But there is only one body, one spirit. Even as you are called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. There's only one baptism that counts, that's Christ's baptism. Now if your not baptized into Christ, your water baptism is of no value whatsoever.
v

It's only ONE baptism and that's Jesus Christ. We are baptized into His death. You say I thought we were suppose to be baptized in water? No. We are baptized into His death, that's the thing that counts. It is only one baptism, there is only one circumcision, you either get that one or you have none at all.

Col 2:10-11  And you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power, in whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands...

No skin, no hands, no knife, that's circumcision, okay. Continuing verse 11 "... putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ." That's what it represents, "the flesh by the circumcision of CHRIST!" That is the only way it counts. 

Col 2:12  buried with Him in baptism, in whom also you were raised through the faith of the working of God, raising Him from the dead.

Then you say, 'alright Ray there it is, we have to be baptized, can't you read it in context?' The circumcision is without hands, the baptism is without water. This is Christ's circumcision, Christ's baptism, Christ is the anointing, it's Christ, Christ, Christ, all of it.
v


"There is ONE GOD" (I Cor.8:5); "God is SPIRIT" (John 6:24);

"by ONE SPIRIT  baptized into one body" (I Co. 12:13);

"But he that is joined unto the Lord IS ONE SPIRIT" (I Cor. 6:17); "I and My Father are ONE" (John 10:30)

"There is ONE BODY, and ONE SPIRIT, even as ye are called in ONE HOPE, of your calling; ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM, ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, Who is ABOVE ALL, and THROUGH ALL, and IN YOU ALL" (Eph. 4:4-6).

HENCE: WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT JESUS, WE KNOW ABOUT HIS FATHER

Jesus spoke the words of His Father and did the works of His Father (John 14:10 & 14:24 & 5:19).

Jesus Christ "declares the FATHER" (John 1:18). And reveals the Father to whomever the Son desires (Matt. 11:27). Jesus was revealing the Father to the disciples His whole ministry, but Phillip missed it: (John 14:9-11). Remember when Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I AM"? (John 8:58). He was also revealing HIMSELF as the God of the Old Testament.

Jesus Christ IS THE GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT!
He is THE GOD OF THE BIBLE!
Jesus Christ is the ONLY REVELATION OF GOD THAT WE HAVE.
Even the Holy Spirit we all have comes from God THROUGH Jesus Christ.
Jesus is that Comforter, that Spirit.
Our Saviour and our Brother.
The Son of God.
------------------------------------------------------------------

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[zarlareignofthefairies]

Thanks Dave in Tenn and everyone else. This is extremely fascinating stuff. I can only imagine what life will be like in the last two great eons and at the end of time when God is all in all.

God bless you all with lots of grace
Jonathan

[repottinger]

You're very welcome, Jonathan; it's questions like yours that are so helpful to us all in coming to a greater understanding of God's word.
Your brother in Christ,
Randy

[repottinger]

I do have another question, though, for anyone who might feel led to answer it. As Dave mentioned Ray having written, God is an expanding family, and so we will all in time actually be God. I've read this before from other writers, but I'd just like to verify it here, if possible. Is this what Ray actually believed and taught—that we will all eventually BE GOD? (I'm not sure if I've ever read those exact words from him.) Not meaning to become our personal Creator God the Father of all or His Son Jesus Christ the Word of God, of course, but a member of their family, as a man and a woman become "one flesh" upon being married. If anyone can shed any light on this, I would really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Randy
P.S. If I'm breaking any kind of forum etiquette by bringing up another question on someone else's thread, could someone please let me know? I wrote this question, and then that thought occurred to me. As I think I mentioned when I first joined, this is the first forum that I've been a part of, and I really don't know what all of the unwritten rules are yet. 

[Kat]

I do have another question, though, for anyone who might feel led to answer it. As Dave mentioned Ray having written, God is an expanding family, and so we will all in time actually be God. I've read this before from other teachers, but I'd just like to verify it here, if possible. Is this what Ray actually believed and taught—that we will all eventually BE GOD? (I'm not sure if I've ever read those exact words from him.)

Hi Randy, simply put yes, I think this may answer that for you in more detail.

http://bible-truths.com/WhyGodLovesYou.htm -----------

Reason One:
WHY GOD LOVES THE WORLD 

Paul told the Athenians that the God that was UNKNOWN to them, was in fact, the very God that Paul himself worshipped. And being the great teacher and psychologist that Paul was, he used their own superstition to show them Who the True God really is. So Paul shows them their origin, their connection with God, and their final destiny. 

"And has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us: For in Him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also HIS OFFSPRING" (Acts 17:26-28) 

There is the answer as to why God loves the world. 

The word "offspring" in this verse is from the Greek word, genos (from which we get our word genealogy), which Strong's Greek Lexicon defines as "kin." And kin is "One's relatives, family, kinfolk." Yes, we are of the same race, kin, relatives, and family as God Almighty! A few other Versions of Acts 17:28 are: 

"We too belong to His race" (Moffatt Translation)
"For we are His kindred" (Lamsa, Eastern Texts)
"For indeed we are His children" (Knox Translation) 

"And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye [ye means 'all of you'] shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty" (II Cor. 6:16:18) 

Have you ever meditated on this profound truth? WE ARE GOD'S KIN! I can trace my genealogy back to Joris Jansen De Rapalje, the first of four named families to settle Manhattan Island, New York in 1623. But that's barely 400 years. All of us one day will be able to trace our genealogy clear back to Adam and Eve and then to The Lord GOD ALMIGHTY the Creator of the universe and the Creator of the Human Race. This is not figurative language. This is not a metaphor. This is not spiritual symbolism. We really are of the kin, race, and genealogy of God Almighty! 

Luke's gospel traces Jesus' genealogy through His mother Mary's father. Does that genealogy end with Adam and Eve? No it doesn't. Let's read it: 

"Which was the son of Enos [Enoch], which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son OF GOD!"   

Likewise, ALL of our genealogies will take us back through our parents, grand parents, great grandparents, etc., etc., until we come to our Truly GREAT Father, not Adam, but GOD! WE ARE ALL OF THE RACE OF GOD! 

When a mother gives birth, she is reproducing herself; she is giving birth to someone like herself;  she is producing a person in her own image and likeness; and hence this child is now of the mother's race, kin, genealogy, relatives, children, and family. In similar fashion God brought into existence humanity. 

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... So God created man in His Own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. (Gen. 1:26-27) 

While it is true that we do not presently live together with God as a family, it is nevertheless, a fact that we are presently a member of God's family, kin, and race. And it's just a matter of time until we are all united as one Family of God: 

"And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle [God's habitation or dwelling place] of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God" (Rev. 21:2-3) 

"Ye shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty" (II Cor 6:16:18) 

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as He is pure" (I John 3:1-3) 

Can you not feel an emotion, a longing in God's words when He speaks of the future He plans with His people? Well listen again: "And I heard a GREAT VOICE out of heaven..." Why a "GREAT" voice? Why not just a voice? Because this is a GREAT announcement by God Almighty. The Greek word translated "great" means "exceedingly, loud, mighty, high, strong." "BEHOLD, the tabernacle of GOD IS WITH MEN,..." "Behold, LO, listen, SEE." Why? Because God Almighty is going to make a grand and glorious announcement. He will make His HOME WITH MANKIND!  God is coming to live with us. "...and He will dwell with them, and they shall be HIS PEOPLE..." "His" has a definition of "of him." These are "people of Him." They are of God's race and kindred and therefore they are "people of Him" -- of HIS RACE, not His "possessions" like so much chattel. "...and God Himself shall be with them, and BE THEIR GOD" (Rev. 21:2-3). 

God did not create some kind of creature with higher intelligence than the plants and animals so that He could communicate with them. Humans are not just some kind of play things for God. God did not create some kind of aliens when He made us. We are the extension of His family, His kinfolk. We are God's CHILDREN -- we are the expansion of God's RACE! 

Although these verses show the actual family relationship taking place at a yet future date, that doesn't mean that it is not already a reality, seeing that God "...calls those things which be not as though they were" (Rom. 4:17). And we also have this reassuring statement of John where he states: "...NOW are we the sons of God" (I John 3:2).
------------------------------------------------------------------

Let me be more clear. Ray said God is not a closed Trinity but an expanding family so it seems to me that that is what he was saying, that we will all be God some day. So to put it like this '' that God may all in all'' or to rearrange the words ''that all may be God''.

It really seems blasphemous to say that and that's why I sounded so sheepish in my other posts but I thought I would just come right out and say it.

1Cor 15:28  Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

This comment is what God is working out in this creation, "...that God may be all..." all/everything to and in us, when we are perfected, as in entering/born into the God family at resurrection. Just as Christ has the Spirit without measure (John 3:34), so will the elect. That is when God will be "all" in us, the firstfruits. And when it is accomplished/completed in every creature, "all" in heaven and earth are perfected in Christ/God, that is the results that is being worked out in this creation.

1Co 15:23  But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming.
v. 24  Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

"Then comes the end" of the work of salvation, all will have been saved and brought into the God family... "all in all." That is when I think the real excitement begins.

1Co 2:9  But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"—

mercy, peace and love
Kat

[repottinger]

Thank you so much, Kat; I especially like how Ray shows what it will be like for God to eventually be ALL in ALL of His creation.
Your brother in Christ,
Randy

[Ian 155]

When Jesus delivers up the kingdom to God the Father will He still be our Master forever? Was Ray saying that someday we will be on the same level as Jesus?

Hi Kat I was referring specifically to the question above,I get what Ray said re Jesus and the Father ....these 2 verses may be an answer   Galatians 4:7 and Galatians 4:7