I was reading 2 Corinthians 5:5 of Paul’s letter to the Corinthian believers. It wasn’t bad enough there were disputes among them, some following Paul and some following Apollos.. which Paul pretty much said “was Paul crucified for you?” (But man loves teachers. Who have their place of course.. but the word is Truth). But they were also proud.. Super saints! lol. Even though, Paul said they should have been grieving because a member of them was sleeping with his mother in law! So Paul said “hand that fellow over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh!”
If you’ve looked up the greek word “flesh” (sarkos) it doesn’t mean only the body or matter.. But spiritually means the lower nature.. lower character.. the selfish part of us.
Basically, it was hand the person back over to Satan, yes? Since the rebellion within Satan was fully ripe even when God created man! Obviously God’s engineering. And patience! Waiting for such exact time to create man and woman and put them in that innocent garden. The whole human race vulnerable. It seems logical to me, done in just that way, in order so “all in heaven and earth” would learn to understand good and evil, all together, at once.
Wow the patience of God! Why is the selfish nature exorcised, not when there was ‘only’ the Father and His Spirit as all, and the Son (only straight out from God One) and the angels? Likely not so much to go astray about? So waiting.. waiting.. Knowing all things of course. Seeing the first rebel seed of thought occur – as it is/was bound to sooner or later(?) in some able to think being. Likely sooner or later in every one.
I know there’s all the debates, but if some angels left their first place/position/orbit (according to the Greek) then angels – as well as man, must be endowed with the ability to think ..to ponder and reason.. with the ability, sooner or later, to make choices.
“Hand this one over to Satan for the destruction of” the foolish, selfish, lower character and personality. The selfish part of him ruling. Which cannot be pleasing to God. But which doesn’t mean of course that God hated that man, didn’t “love” him. What with His being love!
Sure God in all likelihood was a bit put out with folks when they were happily pounding drums (tophets) to drown out the screams of babies and children as they burned them alive to Molech. But maybe I’m straying..
Although! If you’re going to exorcise all (in heaven and earth) completely – of every speck of lower nature and character of self-ish-ness, maybe you have to let that very thing, even some of the very worst of the worst type of fruits of it, run its course. Choices other than His, that is, allowed to exist and run their course.
Then in the end all can so very plainly see the two fruits of the two trees/ways of life. Which surely we can say the two ways are – life lived toward Him, or life lived going the other direction, away from Him. Which paradoxically (?) to live life toward self, thus self interest as THE prime motive – is the way of life that is a progressive traveling away from Him. (Who is life!(?)
Now, I don’t know about you (dear one) but I am very convinced that God is life itself. And I believe He convinced me. If “in the beginning God..” what else would be? What else is the energy, force, spark and breath of life? Which spark (and individual dna personality and pattern) “returns to God who gave it”!) And remember, as life, itself, He (surely?) suffers, experiences, and lives through all sufferings. Through all bad, even horrible things which ever occur!
Now I am straying! But I’ve been feeling such a sense of urgency lately! Maybe the key to understanding that feeling is the word “progressive”! Every thing is progressive.. starts as a tiny seed.. But Revelation chapter seven talks about last days believers having no lie/untruth, not one, in their heart – thus on their lips. Wow. I can’t help it. That sounds like a mandate.
Let me point out how originally, it was “dust you are and to dust shall you return” the reason being ‘because now selfishness is going to rule (you) so you will be barred from the tree of life everlasting’.. It’s not the life spark that quits.. It’s the access to it.. It was Satan who said – using the at the time, harmless serpent – “surely ..you won’t ..die?!”
It’s not merciful, not good to let the corrupt, rotting fruit rule forever and ever. Same with the flood of Noah, the judgment of the Canaanite nations, and anything else the world judges God over. It can’t actually progress forever and ever, but is of course the black hole. Where does ‘away from God/Life’ progress to? To ruin. In the case of the flood for instance, “every thought of man was continuously and only evil”! Not merciful to let it continue. And the inevitable self destruction (apocalypse) would have occurred long (long) ago.. And obviously God is creating many. Very, very many. Of course a lot of the church is going around saying “don’t worry about any of that.. apocalypse is only metaphor.. it never happens.. the world has right to the tree of life never fading”.
To not even mention the pre and nonBiblical idea of ‘hell’ that is spoken and passed on. Or a less than 100% victorious and “perfect” end result of all this!
After all, “perfect” makes no mistakes, cannot lose anything!
I’m just saying, more people could understand truth and how unbelievably “good” the heavenly Father, and thus what He is creating, is – if there was more understanding of just what it is He is doing. And why.
How do you have a just universe if there is selfishness? How do you create genuinely able to think and reason beings, AND, keep paradise/perfection intact?
Now let me get really, really what some would call negative, for that one tiny nation, Israel – which ancient ethnicity Jesus said would not fade away from the world or age – why was crime dealt with by stoning? Is it because every speck of selfishness and actually imperfection, is like a virulent contagious disease? And is a bottomless pit of potential? Being the OPPOSITE of God/Life who “is perfect” thus perfection? (Matthew 5:48.) By stoning, no one has to come in contact with the contagious disease.
Let me mention that “survival of the fittest” cannot end nor progress well.
But! That’s what it’s all about! “Hand him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh/selfish character”! Because the fruit of it – of every generation and of all history – fully reviewed on ‘day’ of judgment? – will convince “all”.
So that “ALL” can LIVE happily ever after.. Able to have access to the tree of Life. Which, or who “is Love”. And “love never fails”! (1 John 4:8 and 1 Corinthians 13:8)
[1 Corinthians 15:22-28! John 12:32, Ephesians 1:10, Colossians 1:20, 1Tim.4:10, and SO many more..]
WHAT IS LIFE ? 