This first excerpt is from D4 Hell: 'Gehenna Fire Judgment.'
http://bible-truths.com/lake16-D4.htm -----------------------
The very first word to humanity out of Jesus' mouth after being tempted by Satan in the wilderness was "repent..." (Matt. 4:17). And what does "repent" mean? It means to change. And what have I been teaching since we started bible-truths.com? That God is changing physical, carnal humanity into the spiritual Image of God. That's what our existence is all about. This is the purpose for humanity. This is the next goal in the plan of God. To make carnal, physical humanity into the Spiritual Image of God. It's all about change. God is going to change the entire human race.
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The Christian sinner's prayer: "I hate my sin and I accept the Lord, Amen" won't cut it in the real world. If we desire to be sons and not ********, then there is much work to be done and accomplished by our God in our lives. God does not create sons in His Spiritual Image by magic or ten second prayers. Here then is part of the process and the words used to describe that process of changing carnal human nature into the Spiritual Image of God, which we call salvation.
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This is from the Biblestudy 'WORSHIP IN SPIRIT & TRUTH!'
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,5312.0.html -----
FIRST COMES THE PHYSICAL AND THEN COMES THE SPIRITUAL
1Cor 15:46 Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual.
Why is the spiritual better than the physical? Well in this life if you are carnal minded, physically minded, materialistically minded, you will think that the natural is better than the spiritual. Try to tell a 12 or 13 year old that the spiritual things mean more than physical things. I mean come on, you know they are into toys and fun and games and sports and clothes and TV. But it’s just so so with the spiritual things.
But the reason that the spiritual is better than the physical is, it’s the only thing that’s going to last, right. The physical is temporary, the natural is temporary and only the spiritual is eonian. But eonian of course leads into eternity. First eonian then eternity.
Again we come back to the idea that Christ was the only perfect example that shows us how to worship God and how to live. The fact is that this image - this one parable that hasn’t been fulfilled yet, making humanity into the image of God, is not yet complete. So do we have an example of what this final ‘Image’ will be like? Yes, we do;
Rom 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son…
It would be pretty silly to say we are already spiritually formed into the image of God and now all we have to do, is be conformed into the spiritual image of Christ, it’s nonsense. They are one in the same. Jesus Christ said, I and My Father are One. You can’t be in the spiritual image of GOD, but say, I’m working on the spiritual image of CHRIST aspect. They are One and the same. “I and My Father are One” (John 10:30). This is a progression ‘to be’ conformed into the image of His Son, right? That He might be the first born among many brethren. Look back at 1 John 3.
1John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does 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.
v. 3 And every man that hath this hope in Him purifies himself, even as He is pure.
Wow, look at that. So we are called the sons of God. But it does not yet appear what we shall be. But notice that the only ones that shall be, are the ones who purify themselves. They have to purify themselves even as He is pure. See it all comes back to Jesus Christ. We’ve got to conform to His image.
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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.
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This is from LOF 12. 'God Judges the World in a Pond.'
http://bible-truths.com/lake12.html -------------------------------
Concordant Version: "And saying is the Alueim [Hebrew: elohiym, gods or used of the supreme God--plural of elowahh, a deity or the Deity], Make will We humanity in Our image, and according to Our likeness… And creating is the Alueim humanity in His image. In the Image of the Alueim He creates it. Male and female He creates them" (Gen. 1:26a & 27).
So we see here the same thing we have already discussed with regards to the Greek aorist tense of verbs, as in "For God so lovED the world" versus "For thus God lovES the world." God’s love for the world CONTINUES! And creating man in God’s image also CONTINUES!
Lustful, carnal-minded, sinning, Adam and Eve were no more in the complete image of God at their physical creation than the Apostles were completely converted during the schooling under Christ’s teaching. It is all an ongoing process. We are even still being converted, and still being perfected, and still becoming more and more like God. How often I have heard preachers remark how Adam and Eve where in the very IMAGE OF GOD. THE TRUE IMAGE OF GOD DOES NOT SIN!
"For whom He did foreknow He also did predestinate TO BE conformed to the image of His Son…" (Rom. 8:29).
"And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we SHALL also bear the image of the heavenly" (I Cor. 15:49).
Presently, only Jesus Christ is the true "Image of God" (II Cor. 4:4).
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mercy, peace and love
Kat