Like a chestnut tree

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread that came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread will live forever.”These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. So then many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This statement is very unpleasant; who can listen to it?” (vv. 53-59)

If I go to any church and tell people that we are saved by Christ, I will find many agreeing with me. However, there are only few who truly understand who Christ is. I’ve been emphasizing the importance of Trinity. Without knowing Christ, we cannot understand why He became a man. Chapter 6 teaches us about the union of Christ. This union is closely related to the cross. As we all know, the Lord’s Supper happened just before Christ’s arrest.

It may seem that I repeat myself again and again. Some of you may be tired of reading the same thing. But there are too many false teachers in churches. They boast of their education and much reading. They persuade people day and night. So I must write the same thing again and again. God will not forgive those who weaken the power of the cross of Christ.

The cross of Christ is a simple message to His saints. But it is a stumbling block to those who reject God. I’ve been trying to explain why God now rejects the Protestant church as well as the Roman Catholic church. In the 17^th century England, the Protestant theologians and ministers started to reject our righteousness that came through Christ’s work on the cross. They concluded that the cross was not enough for us to gain the eternal life. Their treachery is clearly shown in the theories called the Covenant Theology (CT) and the Active Obedience of Christ (AOC). Their root is found in the Roman Catholic theologians like Anselm and Aquinas. Some believe that they are separate theories but in fact, they are tightly connected because both teach that righteousness comes only from works/the law. Those who follow CT and AOC think Adam could have become the head of the church by his obedience. We simply reject their idea.

It is true that we are saved because of Christ’s work on the cross. However, He did not gain righteousness for us by that work. Rather, He, who is righteous like the Father, made us equal with Him and righteous through that work. The righteous God made us righteous like Him through death and resurrection of Christ. Therefore, our righteousness is not like the righteousness of Adam in the garden of Eden. We are clothed with God’s righteousness. Adam did not have true righteousness of God but only mere uprightness as I’ve explained many times. Even though Adam was sinless before he ate the fruit, he could not reach God’s righteousness by his obedience. Only God is righteous and good, and no one can become like God by works. Adam tried but could not. He tried to gain it by disobedience because obedience did not work. He wanted to become like God by his own wisdom and works. Although he sought eternal life, it was not granted to him. On the other hand, we are imputed with God’s righteousness by believing in Him. Grace is freely given. Because we know grace is free, we understand that God has chosen His people before they are born. No one can choose to believe in God.

…for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.”  Just as it is written: “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” (Romans 9:11-13)

From England, the Protestant churches started to focus on the law. On the outside, the Protestant theologians and ministers preach the cross of Christ. But they trample the cross of Christ under their feet and mock God openly by preaching the CT and the AOC. What they teach and believe is rootless as God has shown me in my dream. Many are going back to Egypt, the land of the dead.

We face many natural disasters around the world. From year 2020, the disasters are more frequent and drastic in scale. Climate change is a result of the Industrial Revolution that started in England. This shows the reason of the demise of the world. What went wrong in England has brought calamities in the world. This is the result of forsaking the cross of Christ. This is the last hour.

Therefore they said to Him, “What are we to do, so that we may accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (vv. 28-29)

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)

I once read a writing of a Reformed minister. He wrote that God saved His people to be glorified. In other words, God let Adam sin and die so that He would save his descendants later. With this view, God actively made Adam sin and made us suffer so that we would thank Him for saving us later. God could keep Adam in the garden of Eden and forgive him. God could prevent Adam from sinning because He knew what was in his mind. But He did not. Why?

Even though many say that Adam’s fall was in God’s plan, they actually believe that Adam’s sin happened accidentally, and God inevitably had to put Adam and his descendants to death because He is just. You might have already noticed there is something not quite right. With this view, we see two contrasting characteristics of God. Is God merciful but just? Or is God merciful and just?

To His people, God is always merciful and just. Adam’s fall happened because there is something important for us to learn. Everything is written for the church’s growth and learning. The reformation in the 16^th century was ordained by God, but it had its own limits. It heavily focused on sin and punishment. I support TULIP but there is much more to understand. But I am not talking about a new theory. Irenaeus already wrote that Adam was immature. When we read the Bible, we must understand why God has made the world in the first place. Why?

I repeatedly mentioned that the purpose of all creation is the kingdom (church). And the church was planned before creation for the Son. The church is the eternal bride of Christ. We rule the world with Christ as our head.

When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:28)

Christianity is not about sin, the law, and/or punishment. It is about the change of our status. We, who are now the adopted children of God, listen to God. But we do more than what servants do because we have the mind of Christ. Obedience does not bring righteousness. Rather, God’s righteousness brings our obedience. Righteousness is not about moral perfection. It is God’s will and mercy. We are completely free from death because we are no longer like Adam in the garden of Eden, who was only a slave. We are constantly taught by God through the Word and the Spirit. When we sin, God disciplines us.

Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” (v.14)

Focusing on the law does not make anyone truly pious. We know that God disciplines us when we go astray. Therefore, we fear God as children fear their fathers. We do not turn to either legalism or antinomianism.

In John 5, the Jews accused Christ of violating the fourth commandment. Jesus simply explained that He is not like other men before the law. Considering righteousness, He is equal with the Father. The Son became a man so that we would become the children of God. Therefore, He simply did not need to gain righteousness through the works of the law. He came to free us from the righteousness that comes from the law, which is the old and conditional covenant. Regarding this, the reformers in the 17^th century took a wrong step despite warnings. They wanted to make the Protestant church a replacement of the Roman Catholic church. Christianity cannot become a religion of the majority. The Bible testifies that there are few who are saved. Most people do not understand the Bible and interpret the words of God as mere moral instructions. Those who are truly saved understand the works of God shown through the Son. We understand what the cross means to us.

The distinct feature of false believers in the church is that they do not accept the free gift of God. They reject 100% grace. They put hope in the law, but they do not keep the law. They are proud of their works, which are useless before God. True believers keep the eternal law of love. This love is not what the world defines. It is not about things in the world or mankind. It is strictly about God and His people. It is about the words of God and the gospel of Christ. False teachers do not preach 100% grace. They do not believe that the Son became a man to make us like Him. Had the Son put emphasis on the law and the righteousness that comes from the law, He would have been praised by the Jews. But He did not. He came to free them, but they rejected Him.

I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. (v. 43)

The Son is truly the Lord of the Sabbath. He gave us the true rest from our works. We are now under the new law, the law of liberty as the children of God. This law is not burdensome because God is with us.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and follow His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. (1 John 5:1-4)

Calvin and Luther were true Christians. But their knowledge had limits because of various reasons. They could not get rid of human philosophies and philosophy-based theology. It was God’s will that they remained that way so that they are not made perfect without us. All false believers follow the wrong way and will not have any excuse at the end. All true believers understand why the Son became a man and how He saved us.

Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have put your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (vv. 45-47)

Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation; and they placed him in custody, because it had not been decided what should be done to him. Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. (Numbers 15:32-36)

“For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.” (Exodus 35:2-3)

Theologians and ministers teach that Christ never broke the law. They say that it was the disciples and the man at Bethesda who broke the law. But, Jesus admitted that he did not keep the law. Here, the Jews persecuted Jesus for telling the man to pick up his pallet and walk. Christ admitted that he made him work and he also worked on the Sabbath.

For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on a Sabbath. But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” (vv. 16-17)

Earlier I wrote about the Lord of the Sabbath in my post on Matthew 12 (9 Nov 2022). Before the law, Christ is not like other people. Christ identified Himself with the Father. The Father is not subject to punishment by His own law. The Son is also not judged by the law because He is one with the Father. Christ became a man to fulfil the law by showing God’s perfect love on the cross. He did not become a man to keep it to gain righteousness.

Working on the Sabbath was strictly forbidden as we read the OT. Christ said that He works because the Father always works. Should God be punished for His works on the Sabbath? The true believers say no to this question. But false theologians and ministers say yes. They believe that Christ was subject to punishment by the Father if He disobeyed the law. They say that Christ had to meet the condition given to Adam. They say that Christ had to keep the law to gain the eternal life which Adam could not. Here, Christ tells us He is not like the descendants of Adam.

For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. (v. 18)

The perfect sacrifice required not just sinlessness but the person who knows and loves the Father. In other words, only the Son of God can satisfy God. The OT teaches us that the countless animal sacrifices did not please God.

You have not desired sacrifice and meal offering; You have opened my ears; You have not required burnt offering and sin offering. Then I said, “Behold, I have come; It is written of me in the scroll of the book. I delight to do Your will, my God; Your Law is within my heart. (Psalm 40:6-8)

The Gospel of John is directly against the idea of the active obedience of Christ (AOC). I wonder if John was concerned about a particular cult group at that time. The fact that Iranaeus wrote about the immaturity of Adam indicates that there might have been some people who believed that Adam was holy and righteous, and that Christ had to keep the law perfectly to gain righteousness.

I do not think that Anselm was a reborn Christian because he did not believe in 100% grace of God. It is not that everything he wrote is wrong. Even Balaam the son of Beor said truth of God, but he was a son of the devil. Those who are saved understand the meaning of the cross of Christ. Christ’s work on the cross gave us the eternal life. We do not believe in the righteousness that comes from the law.

Christ has freed all His people. We no longer serve at an earthly temple where there is no true grace. Christ is the incarnation of the Father who is full of grace and truth. Those who do not know God always reject Christ’s work on the cross. They preach the AOC so that they can enslave others. They say that the cross is not enough.

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)

This chapter tells us about the third sign. The event happened in Jerusalem at the pool called Bethesda (the house of grace) with five porticoes. Here we see a man who did not receive grace even though he sought.

The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” (v. 7)

Those who went to the pool first whenever an angel stirred up the water were made well. But the man could not walk so he could not get healed. This man’s story teaches us the status of the fallen mankind. Theologians and ministers think that our issue is the inability to keep the law because of the original sin. They believe that our righteousness is from the law. However, the Bible does not teach what they believe. So they had to come up with the theory called the Active Obedience of Christ. They think that they can make people obey the law with this theory.

This chapter directly opposes their idea because Christ did not cure the man so that he could reach the pool. Christ completely removed this man’s need to reach the pool. Christ did not become a man to gain righteousness that comes from the law. He became a man to free us from the curse of the law. The man indirectly asked Christ to help him to reach the pool because he believed that the pool had the power to cure him. In other words, the man asked Christ to help him to gain grace that comes from works. Christ cured the man completely so that he does not need to reach the pool. Among many people who tried to reach the pool, it appears that Christ cured only this man. Even now, there are many people in churches who think they receive grace by their works (Pelagianism or Arminianism). Some think they need some help from God, but the rest is up to them (Semi-Pelagianism). Christ saves only those who understand that they cannot do anything to gain grace. Christ told the man to pick up his pallet and walk.

Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was a Sabbath on that day. So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is a Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” (v. 8-11)

John wrote about the seven signs that Christ showed. And they are connected with the rebirth of His people. The Gospel of John is about how the Son sets His people free and makes them the new creation.

But of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; And the Most High Himself will establish her. The LORD will count when He registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah (Psalm 87:5-6)

The pool in chapter 5 was in Jerusalem. This Jewish man, like the Samaritan woman, was under the curse of the conditional covenant. He wanted to receive grace in Jerusalem where the temple of God was. He had to do something to receive grace, but he tried but was not able to receive it. Again, John mentions the pool had the five porticoes, which some may consider an unimportant detail. Number five indicates grace. Bethesda means the house of grace or mercy. The man thought that he needed to have the ability to reach the pool ahead of others. Christ did not help him to reach the pool but instead, removed his original problem.

Likewise, our issue is not about the inability to keep God’s commands. Unless we are made like the Son, we are still under the curse of the conditional covenant, which Adam received. Christ’s first and foremost task was to establish the kingdom. This required the rebirth of His chosen people as the children of God. Christ did not come to keep the law to give us righteousness from the law but to change us into the children of God. Those whose righteousness is tied to the law perish just as Adam and Eve did. It is because righteousness that comes from works is only uprightness of a servant/slave/dog. Christ came to solve our fundamental issue of not knowing, understanding, loving, or believing in God. The new and eternal covenant requires the Son to redeem His people. Because the Son saves them, they become to know the Father as He does.

They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember.” (Jeremiah 31:34)

Jesus said to him, “Go; your son is alive.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home. (V. 50)

John the apostle described the seven signs that Jesus showed. This passage is about a nobleman’s son being recovered from a deadly illness. The other three gospels described many miracles that Jesus performed. The Gospel of John tells us the seven signs that testify who Christ is and why He became a man. The two important things that we find in this passage is that the son was brought back to life by Christ and the father believed His word.

I consider that the second sign is about Christ’s death and how people are saved by faith in Him. Theologians and ministers teach people that Christ’s death on the cross is His passive obedience to God. Most of them agree that the word ‘passive’ is misleading, but they still use the term, the passive obedience of Christ. On the contrary, John describes that Christ’s death on the cross is not passive.

For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it back. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back. This commandment I received from My Father. (John 10:17-18)

The Son is one with the Father. And Christ said that His food is to do the will of the Father.

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work. …” (v.34)

True obedience requires true knowledge of God. This knowledge accompanies love, wisdom, faith, and understanding. Only the Son truly knows the Father and speaks only truth. Therefore, Christ is Truth and Word. He is also the wisdom of God.

…but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:24)

All his life, Paul preached Christ crucified. So did John and other disciples. The Gospel of John is against the idea and the active and the passive obedience of Christ. Theologians and ministers compare Christ with Adam. But the obedience of Adam was that of a servant/slave/dog. The Son’s obedience on the cross freed us from the slavery because He made us the children of God. The Son had a very different beginning from Adam.

I will announce the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have fathered You. (Psalm 2:7)

So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. (John 8:36)

The law was not given to the Israelites for them to gain righteousness. Their failure in the OT clearly tells us that no one, even Adam, could earn the sonship by works. The new covenant promises the right to become the children of God, which Christ fulfilled on the cross.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

Those who believe that righteousness is from works remain in the old covenant. Christ was blameless before the law but that is not why He became a man. Adam’s issue lies in the fact that he was not like the Son. Therefore, the Son, as the mediator of the new covenant, came and made us like Him. There is no more death for us. If anyone fails to understand this, he/she will receive the curse of the old covenant. Chapter 4 tells us that Christ came to free the Samaritan woman who was under the curse and did not receive grace.

…for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this which you have said is true. (v.18)

Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.” (vv. 13-14)

The words of a person’s mouth are deep waters; The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. (Proverbs 18:4)

For the fountain of life is with You; In Your light we see light. (Psalm 36:9)

In this passage, Christ told the Samaritan woman that she had five husbands and was living with her sixth man. Five symbolizes grace. Even though she sought grace by worshiping on the Mountain Gerizim, she did not receive it. Finally, she meets her true husband, Jesus Christ, because she symbolizes the church of the Gentiles. Jesus is her seventh husband who loves her eternally.

Earlier, I’ve explained that water symbolizes the Word and Truth. Christ, who is the only begotten Son of God, makes us know the Father truly. This knowledge of God (Truth and Word) is our foundation of the eternal life because there is no true faith without true knowledge of God.

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)

Many theologians and ministers teach that the law and obedience to the law are the foundations of the kingdom. They are confined in the old covenant. They still long for the life of Adam in the garden of Eden. They preach that disobedience caused our misery. They believe Adam was holy and righteous like the Son of God. Therefore, the original sin and our own sins are always before us. The difference between God and Adam is like the difference between a man and a dog. Can a dog become a man by obeying its owner? Can a dog become the co-heir with the owner’s son? Although they preach about Christ, their ultimate goal is the obedience to the law. They believe that the law is the source of the eternal life. Therefore, they nullify the good news that Christ preached.

Both Ezekiel and John described the water flowing from God (Temple) that gives life to all creatures.

Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. (Ezekiel 47:1)

And it will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the others become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. (Ezekiel 47:9)

And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:1-2)

The water flowing from God makes everything holy. Therefore, it is the law of the temple.

This is the law of the house: its entire area on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. (Ezekiel 43:12)

False teachers put emphasis on the fact that Adam was made in God’s image. That image is nothing without being united with the Son. Only those who receive the Holy Spirit truly reflect God. The rest (the reprobate) go to eternal damnation. Therefore, it is true to say that water, blood, and the Spirit are in agreement.

the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. (1 John 5:8)

Christians want to believe that everyone in the visible church is holy. Most of them do not know God, and therefore, do not have true faith in Him. They think they are born holy and hence, commit the sin of Korah and his followers in Numbers 16.

They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” When Moses heard this, he fell on his face; and he spoke to Korah and all his group, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will make known who is His, and who is holy, and will bring that one near to Himself; indeed, the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. (Numbers 16:3-5)

These people do not have desire to know God. They think they are righteous by their own right and are accepted by God as His children. They believe all mankind is saved because everyone is made in the image of God. Theologians and ministers who believe that Adam could have given all mankind the eternal life by his obedience are also Korah’s followers. They say that Adam was holy and righteous. Holiness and righteousness belong only to God. Adam was a mere dog who bit his own master. He trusted the devil.

I once saw a farmer who got bitten by his own dog multiple times. The wounds looked very bad. Someone asked him, “what did you do with the dog?” He said, “He had to be put to death.” The end of a disobedient dog who bit his own master is death. And that’s what Adam and Eve received. However, the Son is different. The Father never kills His own Son for disobedience. The Son never betrays the Father because He is one with Him. The Son has made His people just like Him. Obedience is the result of being one with God. Obedience of a man does not achieve anything. Adam could never become the living water for us. I can only conclude that many theologians have misinterpreted Romans 5:12-21. Paul was not comparing two men because the difference between Adam and the Son is like that between a dog and a man.

The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:47)

Interestingly, Paul did not meet Jesus while He was living on the earth. And yet, Paul put emphasis on Jesus being a man. On the other hand, John saw and lived with Jesus during His public ministry. And yet, John testifies that Jesus is God. Both Paul and John teach us the two inseparable natures of Christ. Hence, it is important to understand all the books in the Bible.

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I tell you, raise your eyes and observe the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have come into their labor.” (vv. 34-38)

In the passage, the Samaritan woman mentions the Mount Gerizim. Joshua divided the Israelites into two groups and gave them blessing and cursing according to God’s instruction (Joshua 8:33). It appears that the Samaritans believed that the Mt. Gerizim was the source of God’s blessing.

And it shall come about, when the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. (Deuteronomy 11:29)

As I’ve previously explained, true worship of God is not about where we worship. Worship must be based on the true knowledge of God. And without true faith, we cannot please God. The apostles repeatedly mentioned that only the Son made the Father known to us. He also gave us true faith. Therefore, we cannot worship God without knowing God. Whoever has the knowledge of God knows the Father and the Son.

Christ said, “We worship we do know”.

You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. (v. 22)

Christ preached to the Jews first. And He was born as a Jew. But here, He did not talk about the Jews as a whole. He talked about the (invisible) church starting from the Jews. Jerusalem was indeed the place of worship designated by God at that time. But Jerusalem was only shadow of the real Jerusalem, the holy city, which is the church. Christ made this church because He is the true temple. There are many Christians who believe the city Jerusalem has some kind of spiritual power. Some even believe that the Israelites are the chosen people. Christ came and denied all. So, the Jews hated and still hate Him. I do not know much about dispensationalism, but I heard the dispensationalists believe that the Israel nation has some special relationship with God. I disagree. The saints are from different nations and tribes. The Israel nation in the OT was only shadow of the real kingdom. Although the Jews do not accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God, we do not go against them or any unbelievers. We make peace with everyone as much as we can (Romans 12:18). We never know if some of them may turn to God. Our job is to hold onto true faith in God and preach the good news. The knowledge of God strengthens faith. Hence, it is crucial that all believers study and learn God’s words.

I am coming quickly; hold firmly to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. (Revelation 3:11)

The invisible church is true Jerusalem. Each member of the holy, catholic church is God’s priest. Therefore, the new kingdom is the kingdom of priests. The Levites were taken as the first-born child of each household in the OT. They were the designated people to serve God day and night. The saints are the new and eternal priests. God loves each one of us and calls us by name. He feeds and trains us in this life for the kingdom. We are the temple of God on the earth because Christ is in us.

I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. (Revelation 21;22)

Many Christians believe that their ministers are the new priests and try to serve them. They are not fed but they do not know that they are given rotten food by their ministers. They are harassed but want to remain as their slaves. I believe many of the ministers are not true Christians. A lot of them speak lies at the pulpit and are not ashamed when people serve them. They put long robes and speak many words when praying in public to look noble, but they are full of vileness and vanity. On the other hand, the saints appear to look poor and even cursed by God. Christ went through the same humiliation and suffering because He knew we would be treated just like Him. We worship God in spirit and truth. We are the new creation and the eternal priests along with our eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)

Christ, while on the earth, was strongly opposed by the Jews who put their faith in the temple in Jerusalem. They crucified Him because of His teachings concerning the temple. Stephen was also put to death for the same reason. Christ is the true Tabernacle. He made us united with God.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt (tabernacled) among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1;14)

The understanding of the new temple, city, and kingdom is rooted in one truth. That is: we are one with Christ and the Father. As a temple, each saint has the privilege of praying to God directly. Our prayers were like the babbling of infants at first. But as we grow up, we confess what we know and understand.

Christ redeemed us with His blood and made us the children of God. By faith, we declared righteous and are one like God. Adam tried to become like God by eating the forbidden fruit, but he lost his uprightness and became separated from God.

Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out with his hand, and take fruit also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— (Genesis 3:22)

It is God’s will that the saints who are made in His image become like Him as John 17 explains. However, this blessing is not given to those who try to gain it by their own works. Christ gives this blessing to His chosen people for free. However, those who are not chosen can neither hear nor understand God.

Jesus said to her, “I am He, the One speaking to you.” (v. 26)

And it shall come about, when the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. (Deuteronomy 11:29)

Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. (Joshua 8:33)

John 4 is difficult to understand without knowing the OT. In this passage, we meet a Samaritan woman. She wants to know which one is the right place to worship God. We need to read the OT to know about Samaria and the Northern Israel. Why did God give the Israelites the detailed instructions concerning the sacrifices and the feasts? Why was God angry at Jeroboam, the son of Nebat? Why did God accept the sacrifices of Abel and not those of Cain?

Many Christians think that a worship happens in a building or a designated place on Sunday. They are proud of themselves that they attend a worship service every week. They attend a church service as a religious ceremony. However, they do not feel connected to God, so they always invent new ways to worship Him. God does not accept our worship just because we keep a form of a worship. Unless we are one with Christ, God does not accept us. If a person is united with Christ, he/she naturally does what God wants because of the Holy Spirit and the Word. In a public worship, God’s words are the most important element.

The Reformation is known as the reformation of worship. The Roman Catholic church, which was greatly influenced by human philosophies, went astray and worshiped men, not God. Therefore, it became a new religion, not Christianity. However, the Protestant church has also gone astray and became like her sister.

I’ve been to many different churches. And I find it disgusting that so many ministers speak at the pulpit to please their audiences. They speak jokes and stories that make others happy. Most of them merely give advice on a moral living. When morality becomes the focus of Christianity, you don’t need to stay in Christianity. All other religions encourage people to be good to one another. God showed me for the last seven years that even the Reformed churches have become completely useless. How much more will God pour His wrath on other churches who treat God’s words like trash? God gave us the Three Ecumenical Creeds and the Three Forms of Unity, but they follow false doctrines and shepherds. And the Reformed churches have taken the false theories such as the Covenant Theology and the Active Obedience of Christ (AOC). People put their hope in their ministers, but God did not choose them to do the third reformation. It is always God who does the reformation. But people reject God’s reformation.

In the OT era, the place where worship happened was important because of the Ark of the Covenant. As we have read in the Book of Ezekiel, the Ark leaves Jerusalem (Ezekiel 10). The Israel nation, Jerusalem, and the temple were only shadow of the real kingdom of God that is coming. It may appear that those in the kingdom of Judah worshiped God in the right way because of the temple in Jerusalem. But God was not pleased with them. Worshiping God is not about the law but the heart of flesh. Christ made this very clear. Even though Christ fulfilled all the law on the cross and freed us from the curse of the law, He was born under the OT system. Theologians and ministers insist that Christ kept all the law perfectly because of this. But this passage tells us that He is not what they believe.

You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. But a time is coming, and even now has arrived, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (vv. 22-24)

If the AOC is right, Christ should have encouraged this woman to worship in Jerusalem (but it was impossible because she was a Samaritan) or to wait until He dies. Although the Bible does not tell us, we can only conclude that the woman and people in her village stopped worshiping God in the Mount Gerizim after Jesus taught them about true worship. It is clear that Christ did not see the new covenant as the continuation of the old covenant. We often forget that Christ enabled true worship of God. Psalm 22:22 tells us that Christ is not only in the receiving end of worship but also in the giving end. The Father accept only what is from Him – Christ and the Spirit. Christ washed us with truth and redeemed us with His blood. Then He sent the Spirit to His people. That has always been the Father’s will. Those who were born and died before Christ also worshiped God and their prayers and worship were accepted because of their faith in God, who promised to send Christ. All saints, whether they were born before Christ or after, have this faith.

We, who are united with Son through the Holy Spirit, are not judged by where we worship. I said a few times that the church era is ending. I do not belong to a visible church or go to a church on Sundays. But I do worship God on Sundays. I do not doubt that people judge me because of this. God does not dwell in a building. And God does not appear only in a place where the worship happens. God is everywhere. And most importantly, God is always with His saints 24/7. He always listens to prayers of His children. Even when I was away from a church for more than 10 years, God called me in 2017. He never said that I was breaking the law by not going to church on Sundays. Instead, He sent me to different churches to see why God was angry at them. There are many Christians around the world who worship their churches, not God. Therefore, God will burn all churches as He burnt down Jerusalem, the high places, and the temple.

Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him. (1 King 19:18)

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24)

“He who comes from above is above all; the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony. The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true. For He whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly.The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand. The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (vv. 31-36)

For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed as having been performed in God. (vv. 20-21)

In John 3:22-36, John the Baptist explains why he must decrease. John encouraged people to repent of their sins and live a godly life. However, repentance of sins or human will to live a godly life does not make anyone the new creation. Our God showed mercy even to some evil men throughout the Bible, but their confession of sins did not make them reborn. The law reveals that all men are sinful. Even those who do not know the law of God are condemned because of their conscience (See Romans 2:12-16). But the law does not make one a believer. Causing guilt using the law can result in false confession of faith.

John the apostle carefully laid out his arguments in this book. He explains why Jesus had to be the second person of the Trinity. Jesus had to be God not to keep the law perfectly but to free His people and make them a new creation.

Therefore from now on we recognize no one by the flesh; even though we have known Christ by the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:16-19)

The gospel means the good news that Christ has brought to us. Sadly, the gospel that most theologians and ministers preach is not the true gospel. Those who claim to have read and studied many theology books and writings have a wrong understanding of the gospel. The men-made theology teaches that Christ kept the law perfectly to fulfill it and gained righteousness for the saints. This theory is called the Active Obedience of Christ (AOC). Theologians and ministers do not preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23). They preach Christ who perfectly kept the law. The conditional covenants were given so that people would eagerly wait for the Son of God. Where there is the law, there is always death.

The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. (Romans 7:10)

In the past, slaves were treated as possessions and could be put to death if they disobeyed their masters. The life of slaves relied on their obedience and their masters’ mercy. But the life of sons relies on fathers’ love. Therefore, our true freedom comes when the only Son of God makes us be born again as the adopted children of God. John the apostle explains that the Son achieved this by two means: water and blood. However, they are not separate because Christ is the living water turned into blood.

This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. (1 John 5:6)

The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand. (John 3:35)

Whenever Paul mentioned Christ’s obedience, he connected it with His work on the cross. All his life, Paul preached Christ crucified, not Christ who kept the law perfectly.

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

We know that God set a plan of making His kingdom before creation. Therefore, we know that the way for a man to gain the eternal life was already set by God before creation. Adam fell into temptation and rebelled. Adam was from dust and Christ is from heaven. We believe that Adam could not gain the eternal life by works of the law in the garden of Eden. Theologians and ministers say that there was no death in the garden of Eden. But that does not sound logical. When God gave Adam a warning concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam understood the meaning of death. If he did not, he committed a sin of ignorance, not a wilful sin by eating the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve willfully sinned against God despite His warning because they wanted to be like God by rebelling against Him.

Faith is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). Adam and Eve did not have faith in God. Faith is the work of the Spirit. Faith is tied to the true knowledge of God. Those who have faith in God love Him and His neighbors. It is only logical to say that Adam and Eve were born upright but could not overcome the temptation because they did not receive the Spirit. In contrast, Christ was publicly baptized with water and the Spirit before the temptation in the wilderness so that everyone would know that He is sent by God to fulfill the law. Christ is our way to salvation and the eternal life.

Adam and Eve were from dust. Their fall teaches us the necessity of being born again of water and the Spirit. Although we must be born again, the rebirth means the new creation. Returning to Adam’s pre-fall status is not God’s will. Most theologians and ministers who claim to hold the Reformed faith/theology believe that Adam had the Holy Spirit and was righteous. They focus on his sinless status before the fall. But they fail to see why Adam fell. Hence, they fail to understand why the Son of God is also the Son of Man.

In this passage, Christ refers Himself as the Son of Man but also the only begotten Son (of God). Christ’s two natures are not separated. Christ, the Son of God, became the Son of Man so that Adam’s descendants can become the adopted children of God. This is the kingdom. This is God’s ultimate will. All children of God know and love God. We obey Him. But we do not put our hope in the law. We do not see that the law was given for us to gain righteousness. Christ did not come to keep the law to gain righteousness either for Himself or for the church. Rather, Christ came to fulfill the law and gave us the new command (John 13:34). This is the law of the liberty. We do not gain righteousness by keeping the new command. Rather, we keep it because we are the new creation. We are one with God through water and the Spirit.

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. The Pharisees emphasized that all must keep the law. They misinterpreted the OT. They put all their hope in the law. They focused on people’s will and efforts to keep the law. But they failed to see why God gave them the law. Why did God give the Israelites both blessing and curse in the Book of Deuteronomy? What do we need for us to know, love, and obey God? Therefore, he could not understand what Christ told him.

Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you people do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? (vv. 10-12)

Christ is symbolized as water. Christ is water that turns into blood. Water is Truth, the Word of God. Unless one dies with Christ and is born again, there is no eternal life. All saints receive the Holy Spirit as the seal. He constantly teaches and guides us. He never leaves us. By faith we, who live in 2023, are united with Christ. And the Spirit initiates faith in us. Therefore, it is only logical to say that the saints were chosen before creation to receive the Sprit at an appointed time.

…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:4-5)

Since Adam and Eve were from dust and were unfaithful to God and rebelled against Him, who on the earth can keep the law and gain eternal life? And who can earn faith by works? The law, including God’s command to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, was not given for us to gain eternal life. Eternal life is God’s work.

But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)

The old covenant and the law were tied to the temple that was in Jerusalem. And Christ said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19) The new covenant is not continuation of the old covenant. However, theologians and ministers stubbornly hold the false doctrines simply because they do not understand the differences between Adam and Christ.