Sonship is Now a Matter of Function

In the world, we are born of natural fleshly parents and this biological birth qualifies us to be identified as a son or daughter.  And then we are expected to walk as sons or daughters of our parents.  It begins with what we are and follows with what we do.  But when we are born again of God it is the other way around, we first walk as a son or daughter of our Father, and if we do, then God eternally fixes us as natural sons and daughters in the resurrection of the body.  We are not, at the present time, natural sons or daughters of God.  But if we are led by the Spirit of God and faithfully walk as children of God then we are indeed reckoned by God to be children of God and God will make us natural sons and daughters when Jesus comes in the glory of his God and Father.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;   seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.    For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature.  2 Peter 1:4; cf. Heb 6:4.

When we are born again, begotten of God, we become a child of God, a son or daughter of God because the Spirt is in us.  But must recognize that our present sonship is a matter of function.  We are born into a new walk of life.   It is about what we do.  What we are is based upon what we do.  We are only sons if we function as sons being led by God's Son.  It is a verb thing not a noun thing.  We are born again of God so that we might walk as children of God.  Our sonship is defined by how we walk and whether we do walk according to the Holy Spirit, the divine nature of God.  The children of God are "partakers of the divine nature." Those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God (Rom 8:14).  The Spirit is given for obedience to the will of God.   To be a true son of God means sharing in his divine nature.  But at the present time, we are only sons of God insofar that we walk according to this new divine nature, the Spirit.  We are not yet that divine nature of God which we will inherit and which will eternally fix us as His sons and daughters.  This walk in the Spirit defines who we are. What we do defines who we are.  It will not be until the resurrection of our bodies that we will be sons of God in what we are.   Now we walk according to the divine nature; then when Jesus comes we will inherit and become the divine nature of God and fixed as natural children of God in glory if indeed we have been faithful.  It is only then we will receive that divine nature by which we walked, the Spirit of God.  And then our nature will inherit the divine nature of God, we, these human bodies, clothed in the Spirit of our God and therefore consumed in the love of the Father for eternity.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.... we have this treasure in earthen vessels.... knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus.... our inner man is being renewed day by day...  an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.... the things which are not seen are eternal...we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.    For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,   inasmuch as we, having been clothed, will not be found naked.   For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be consumed by life.    Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge...we walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 3:17-5:7.

It is sown a natural body, it is raised a Spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a Spiritual body.   So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul." The last Adam life-giving Spirit.    However, the Spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the Spiritual.    The first man is out of the earth, earthy; the second man is out of heaven.    As is the earthly (Adam), so also are those who are earthly (all humans); and as is the heavenly (Jesus risen), so also are those who are heavenly (those resurrected in him).    Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly (life-giving Spirit).   Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.    Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,    in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.   For this perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal must be clothed with immortality.   But when this perishable will be clothed with the imperishable, and this mortal will be clothed with immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is consumed in victory."
1 Corinthians 15:44-54.


For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a Spirit of sonship by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" (see Gal 4:6).  The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.   For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.   For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revelation of the sons of God.   For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope    that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.    For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our sonship, the redemption of our body. For in hope we are saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?   But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. 
Romans 8:15-25; see Ephesians 1:5.

Now we are sons only insofar as we function, insofar as are being led by the divine nature, following the Spirit of God, the Spirit of sonship, the Spirit of God's Son Jesus Christ.  Our sonship is defined by what we do and whether we do it.  If we are faithful and overcome, we will inherit that divine nature when we are bodily clothed and consumed in the Spirit of God.


NOW:
Function/Doing - walking by the Spirit, functioning according to the divine nature. Heirs.

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God... we ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit...  groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for... the redemption of our body
Romans 8:14, 23-25.

THEN:
Substance/Being - becoming Spirit substantially, inheriting the divine nature. Inheritors.

He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 
Revelation 21:7.

The Cost of Following Jesus

And Jesus said to another, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first to go and bury my father."    But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead to bury their own dead but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the Kingdom of God."   Another also said, "I will follow you, Lord but let me first say good-bye to those at home."   But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."  Luke 9:59-62.

Following Jesus is a top priority, not something we do after we have attended to our worldly desires and affairs.  Today, many church goers are led to believe that there is no cost to being a disciple of Jesus and everything is simply a matter of receiving freely given things from God.   Indeed, many of these people think of salvation as another commodity which they add to all their other possessions.    While God does indeed freely give us the gifts of His grace, His grace was given so that we might know Him in this life and do the good works of God following in the footsteps of His son.  A cheap grace teaching which ignores the cost of discipleship is quite contrary to the teachings of Jesus and his apostles.

Jesus taught his disciples that the cost of following him involves a very high commitment.  While eternal life is a free gift of God, it is a reality of the Kingdom and it cannot be received without forsaking this our life in this world.  Nothing at all can have a higher value than obeying Jesus.

If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.    For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.   For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life?  Matthew 16:24-26.

Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.   For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;   and a man's foes will be those of his own household.   He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;   and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.   He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.   Matthew 10:34-39.

If anyone comes to me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.   Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.   For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?   Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,   saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'  Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?   Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.   So then, none of you can be my disciple who does not forsake all that he has.  Luke 14:26-33.

Jesus' point is that we must leave all the things of this world behind, including our own life, and nothing at all must have a higher value than serving him.  Once we die with him we are then children of the Kingdom of God and we are not of this world.  We cannot be children of the world and children of the Kingdom at the same time. There is no dual citizenship with God.  If we choose the Kingdom of God and God's righteousness, then we do not choose to pursue worldly things and we did to this world.  Rather, we leave all of that behind to serve Jesus and that includes our very own physical life.  Just as Jesus did not choose to save his own life when he was praying in Gethsemane but to rather choose the will of His Father and suffer the cross, Jesus is indicating we cannot be his disciple if we ourselves will not lose even our own life to follow him.

Paul expresses how he counted the cost of following Jesus and counted all things he had gained in the world as loss to know Christ and the fellowship of his sufferings:

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.    Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord....that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death,   that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.    Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.   Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,   I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 3:7-14.

To follow Jesus means we must take up our own cross and walk in his footsteps fellowshiping in his suffering.

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. 
Romans 8:16-17.
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in his footsteps.  1 Peter 2:21.
By this we know that we are in him:    the one who says he abides in him ought himself to walk just as he walked. 1 John 2:5-6.

Following Jesus means walking as he walked taking up our own cross to lay down our lives for the love of others just as he loved us and laid down his life for us.  If we have the Spirit of Christ in us, the Spirit of the Son of God, and we are led by this the Holy Spirit, then we have the mind of Christ and carry our own cross walking just as he walked.

We who live are  being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 2 Corinthians 4:11.

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship. Romans 12:1.

Our present suffering is nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed in the children of God.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18.
We do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.   For our temporary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,   while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 
2 Corinthians 4:16-18.

Jesus taught that we cannot be his disciple if we do not forsake all that we have and pick up our cross and follow after him.  Nothing in this world can take priority over following Jesus.  Nothing.  Even first saying "Good-bye" to our family before we leave and follow him.  Following Jesus is a serious affair.

Partakers of the Divine Nature

True servants of Jesus, the children of God, are partakers of the divine nature.¹  Just as true human sonship for children of the world means being a partaker of the human nature of Adam, true sonship for children of the Kingdom of God is to be a partaker of the divine nature of God the Father.  Our Holy God is Spirit,² Holy Spirit.  The human nature of the sons of Adam is the flesh and the divine nature of the sons of God is the Spirit.


Those who are led by the Spirit of God's Son, these are sons of God. ³ They are people who worship God in Spirit and in Truth⁴ being led by the Spirit of Truth.⁵ These are the obedient followers of Jesus who have died with Christ and were begotten anew by the Spirit of the Living God.⁶  Flesh gives birth to flesh, Spirit gives birth to spirit.  Our sonship begins when we are born of God according to God's own divine nature, born of the Holy Spirit.  Our sonship begins when the Spirit comes into us so that we might walk according to that Spirit, so that we might walk as a child of God walks, according to the divine nature, the Spirit of God.  We are reckoned as sons or daughters of God only if we walk according to that divine nature of God, the Holy Spirit. 


It is only those who walk according to the divine nature of God who will inherit the divine nature of God.  Only these are true sons of God and heirs of God.⁷  At the present time, our sonship is a matter of function.  Our sonship is defined by what we do.  And those who are led by the Spirit of God, those who walk according to the Spirit, who are the children of God.  It is a verb thing not a noun thing.  And those who have walked by the Spirit, the divine nature of God, will inherit that divine nature as their own in the resurrection of the body when they themselves will be bodily raised into a Spiritual body, life-giving Spirit,⁸ the divine nature of God.  And when this occurs, those who were heirs having walked by the Spirit, children of God defined by what they did, then inherit their divine sonship, the divine nature of God, and they become children of God in what they are.  They become natural sons and daughters of God and thus true sons and daughters⁹ of the Living God our Father.

Notes:
1. 2 Peter 1:4; cf. Col 2:9-10; Ephesians 3:19.
2. John 4:24
3. Romans 8:14; Galatians 4:6
4. John 4:23-24
5. John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13.
6. John 3:3-8
7. Romans 8:14-17.
8. 1 Corinthians 15:45,49; see 2 Cor 3:17-18.
9. 1 John 3:1-2.

God is our own Father

The Jewish religious leaders who persecuted Jesus were hypocrites who talked out of both sides of their mouths with the forked tongue of a serpent.  They wanted to kill Jesus because he was calling God his own Father making himself equal with God.¹  Yet they themselves saw themselves as the judges of Israel and "gods, sons of the Most High,"² and claimed they had one Father: God.³  And these hypocrites did deliver up Jesus for the blasphemy of calling God his own Father and making himself a son of God.⁴

It is very common today for people to talk about Jesus as God's only begotten Son as if Jesus will forever remain God's only begotten Son.⁵  And in this same context, people will talk about the children of God as those who are adopted into the family of God⁶  The idea here is that Jesus is God's only begotten and every other child of God is not a natural son but an adopted son. And how God goes about "adopting" is left rather vague in the minds of the people.

But the truth is that all the children of God are begotten of God⁷ just as Jesus was begotten of God in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod.⁸  The very way that God goes about making us sons and daughters is by begetting us by the Spirit of God.⁹  

God sent His only begotten Son not so that Jesus would forever remain His only begotten Son, but so that Jesus who was begotten of God in Bethlehem would die to that life and be begotten again out of the dead so that he might be the firstborn out of the dead,¹⁰ the firstborn of many brothers.¹¹

Flesh gives birth to the flesh¹² and we first we naturally born to fleshly human parents.  But God is Spirit¹³ and the Spirit is the divine nature of God.  The children of God are partakers of the divine nature.¹⁴  Spirit gives birth to Spirit.¹²  And we are begotten of God by the Spirit of God.  In this way, we are natural children of God, new creations, because we are born again out of the divine nature of God, the Holy Spirit.

We are his children if indeed the Spirit of God truly dwells within us and we are being led by that Spirit.  Those who are born of God by the Spirit of God may truly confess, just as Jesus confessed, that God is their own Father.  They have the Spirit of God's Son within them which cries, "Abba, Father.¹⁵"  They were not born of corruptible seed of mortal flesh but incorruptible seed of the life-giving Spirit,¹⁶ and so God is truly their own Father.  God was Jesus' own Father because God had begotten Jesus by His Spirit.  And God is our own Father because God has begotten us by His Spirit.  If you have been begotten of God, be prepared to be charged by hypocrites with the same charge with which the Jews charged the innocent man Jesus.

The Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
John 5:18.

Notes:
1. John 5:18
2. John 10:34; Psalm 82:6.
3. John 8:41.
4. John 19:7; Matthew 26:65
5. John 1:14, 18; 3:16,18; 1 John 4:9.
6. Romans 8:15,23; 9:4; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5.
7. John 1:12-13; 3:3-8;  Galatians 4:28-29; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3, 23; 1 John 3:9; 4:7; 5:1,4,18.
8. Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:35.
9. John 3:3-8; Galatians 4:28-29.
10. Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 1:6 (see 2:5); Revelation 1:5.
11. Romans 8:29; Hebrews 2:12-13.
12. John 3:6-8.
13. John 4:22-24.  See also Luke 1:35.
14. 2 Peter 1:4; Colossians 2:9-10; Romans 8:17; 1 John 3:1-2.
15.  Galatians 4:6; Romans 8:15.
16. 1 Peter 1:23; John 1:13.

Children Born of Pure Virgin Flesh

Jesus was born of the virgin Mary.  He was born of pure virgin flesh.  He was begotten out of God the Father's Holy Spirit, the power of the Most High.  But Jesus died to that life on the cross.  To come to life again he needed to be born again a second time.  And when God raised him from the dead, Psalm 2:7 was fulfilled, "Today I have begotten you."  (Acts 13:30-33). 

Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we can die with him and be raised up with him.  We can die to that life into which we were born of natural parents, "Flesh gives birth to flesh," and be raised up with him born again a second time, "Spirit gives birth to spirit."

Like Jesus who was born of pure virgin flesh, all the children of God are born of pure virgin flesh.  When they die with Christ, all the sins of their flesh are forgiven and they are washed as white as snow.

Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.  Acts 22:16.

Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Hebrews 10:22.

Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as white as wool. Isaiah 1:18.

 As Jesus died for our sins and was dead, we may now die together with him and have our sins washed away.  And as Jesus was begotten again a second time into new life, we are raised up with him into new resurrection life, born again a second time in him.  Because he died to his first life and was begotten again, we may die to our first lives and be born again a second time.

Like Jesus who was born by the Spirit out of pure virgin flesh, we who have had our sins washed away are also born by the Spirit out of purified virgin flesh having had the sins of our flesh washed away and these bodies made as white as snow so that as Christ was formed in the virgin Mary, Christ might be formed in us.

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.  Galatians 2:20.

Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Galatians 4:6.

My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you. 
Galatians 4:19.


Created: December 25, 2011

When Jesus was Born Again

Jesus was born, begotten, in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod.    But this life into which this human baby had been born ended in Jerusalem when he hung dead upon a cross.  He had been born into a life which had come to an end.  He was dead and he was buried.

In order to come to life again, Jesus needed to be born again a second time, begotten again, and this did happen when God raised him out of the dead:

God raised him from the dead and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.     And we bring you the Good News that what God promised to the fathers,  that God has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus just as also it is written in the second psalm, "You are my son, TODAY I have begotten you."
Acts 13:30-33.

Paul proclaimed that Psalm 2:7, "Today I have begotten you," was fulfilled when God raised Jesus from the dead.  God's only begotten son had died and was dead.  But he was begotten again, begotten to life out of the dead, born again a second time.   And for this reason, Jesus is called the firstborn out of the dead and the firstborn among many brothers.  When God raised him from the dead, he was bodily born again into a new life, resurrection life, a new creation.

And when he ascended on high, the birth of God's Son was celebrated by God when men received gifts, gifts of God.

And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-12.

Jesus had been begotten in Bethlehem.  But he had died to that life into which he had been born of the virgin Mary.  Now, when God raised him from the dead,  he had been begotten again a second time from above by the Spirit of God.  He was born again unto life, resurrection life, born from above into the presence of his Father.  If Jesus had not died to that life into which he was born in Bethlehem, and if Jesus had not been begotten again a second time when God raised him from the dead, there would be no way for us to die with him and be raised up with him as new creations, born again a second time from above by the Spirit of God into the resurrection life of Jesus.  He had died to his first life into which he had been born, he had now been born anew, born again a second time and because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we can die together with him and in him and be born again a second time together with him and in him into the divine power and glory of his resurrection life, the Holy Spirit of God.  Praise the name of Jesus.

Because we have been born again into the Kingdom of God, we are no longer of this world with its times and seasons and so we set our eyes on things above, the things of the Kingdom, and not the things of this world.  There is no calendar in the Kingdom of God.

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.   Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.    Colossians 3:1-3.

Now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?   You observe days and months and seasons and years.  Galatians 4:9-10.

The birth of Jesus which really matters is his resurrection when he was born out of the dead unto life.  His birth in Bethlehem was a birth to a life which came to an end.  His second birth in his resurrection is to a life which will never end.  This is the birth which Jesus' disciples celebrate with every breath they take, those who died with him and were born again in him into his resurrection life poured into their hearts.

From now on we regard no one according to the flesh.  Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we regard him in this way no longer.    Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:16-17.

Having been raised from the dead, begotten out of the dead, Jesus was begotten into the presence of his God and Father.  The death he died, he died to that life into which he had been born in Bethlehem.  He was dead.  He was put to death but made alive in the Spirit.  We no longer regard him according to the flesh because that life and worldly existence ended on the cross.  We regard him according to the Spirit by/in which he was bodily raised and begotten by God into the glory of the Kingdom of God and immortal life.  That's the birth of Jesus that matters.

The Word of God is Jesus

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
John 1:1.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
John 1:14.

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us. 
1 John 1:1-2.

He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God. 
Revelation 19:13

You do not have His Word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.
John 5:38-40.


The following three passages are commonly misconstrued to refer to a Bible canon but actually refer to the person Jesus, God's Word of Truth.


John 17:17-19
Sanctify them in the Truth.  Your Word is Truth.    Just as You sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.   For their sakes I sanctify Myself so that they themselves also may be sanctified in Truth. 


Hebrews 4:12-14
For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart and there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to His eyes with whom we have to do.   Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.


1 Peter 1:23-25
For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has been manifested in these last times for your sake, who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.   Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart,    for you have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding Word of God for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the Word of the Lord abides for ever." That Word is the good news which was preached to you.  See Luke 8:11; 1 John 3:9.

God the Father spoke His Word to ancient Israel through the prophets but the Word became flesh  accomplishing all His will and now His risen Son is the Father's Word and God speaks to us in the person of His Son.  Since the person Jesus is the Truth, God's Word of Truth, to personally know the person Jesus himself is to know the Father's Word of Truth.  God no longer communicates to us through human words spoken through His prophets.  His Word to us now is Jesus himself who comes to dwell in our hearts testifying to our spirit and revealing the knowledge of God his Father to us, the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20). 

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,   has in these last days spoken to us in a Son. 
Hebrews 1:1-2.

No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the Father, he has expressed Him.
John 1:18.