WERE PAUL AND PETER ROMAN CATHOLICS?

Personally, I am yet to learn of any one religious sect rightly claim Paul was a member. However, his teachings is a basis for many of the various denominations. But scripture and history clearly stipulate Paul was an ardent Christian critically committed to Christ and His will. By his teachings, you can envisage a man who looked only to Jesus for all He did. For he had given up much for the sake of Christ. He never even regarded his status as a Hebrew, neither did he take anymore his vast knowledge of the law to be anything of value (Philippians 3:7-8).

The execution of Paul

The Apostle Paul rightly held Jesus over and above anything there be. On this account, Paul does not in any of his writings or communications seem to pronounce or ascribe to a single religious sect. For if the Roman Catholic Church (which is said to be the original branch of Christianity) (if truly so) would claim Paul was a Roman Catholic, when we examine the teachings of Paul, they never rhyme with the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. By calling it the Roman Catholic Church, it gives a strong notion that it originated from Rome.

The Vatican

Yet if to ask, does the Church of Christ originate from Rome? According to scripture, salvation begins at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47). If so, at what point did this have to change? How does Rome factor in?! Is it enough to say it is because the Romans had ruled over Israel?! All these questions do require very critical answers.

When Jesus was ascending to Heaven, He commanded the disciples never to leave Jerusalem. It was equally in Jerusalem in the upper room that the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples, with Mary mother of Jesus inclusive (Acts chapters 1 & 2). So, if there is anything to be called the earthly headquarters of the Church of Christ, it should have been or should be Jerusalem.

The City of Jerusalem

What about Peter?

Much is said about Peter in relation to the Roman Catholic Church. For it is claimed that the Roman Catholic Church is founded on him. And it is further claimed that the institution of the papacy began with Peter.

But if to ask, was Peter crucified for being Roman Catholic or for his faith in Jesus Christ? On whose account was Peter crucified? Why was he crucified? All these questions can't plainly be answered, yet they call for critical answers.

Peter being murdered

On this account, we want to determine the truth in this basing on the correctness of the claims made by the Catholic Church, one of which is; the infallibility of the pope, by this, we want to ask two questions;

Was Peter infallible as is claimed the pope is?
Can a human claim infallibility?

Background

It is claimed that Matthew 16:18 is the foundation of the papacy. It is said that when Jesus said Peter was a rock on whom Jesus would build the Church and the gates of Hades would never overcome it, He (Jesus) was founding the institution of the papacy on Peter. But if we examine the preceding conversation between Jesus and the Disciples, you realize that Jesus' statement stemmed from the earlier question by Jesus that; who do the people say I am? And what do you say I am? Then Peter answered that; "...you are the Christ the Son of the Living God". 

So when Jesus said you are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it, was it to be an attribute to the person of Peter? Wasn't it on the revelation that Jesus is the Son of the living God? In sincere terms and without sinister intentions, or insinuations, this was not exclusive to Peter as a person (The name Peter or Cephas only means a small rock). On the contrary though, the Church of Christ is built not on a small rock, but to mean a rock (which is the hearts of those who believe in Christ) that it can never be shaken. Whoever has the faith that  Jesus is the Son of the living God is the rock upon which the Church of Christ is built. It is not therefore about a single individual but the faith one possesses in Christ.

The Church is strongly founded on Jesus being the Son of the living God. Whoever gets to know this, he/she automatically and rightfully becomes a strong foundation upon which the Church is built. Jesus said; this statement was not by Peter himself. It was a revelation by God. Just like everybody is saved by God's grace and not of their own.

When Jesus takes charge of one's heart, that heart belongs to Him (Jesus). On this then, Jesus (Son of the Living God) in a person's heart is the rock upon which the Church of Christ is built. It is a spiritual relationship between God and the individual which is a mystery to others. Rather it is not in literal terms. This is why one can rightly understand why some of the Apostles and countless of Christians have been brutally executed for refusing to give up their faith in Jesus Christ. For Jesus is the cornerstone (Matthew 21:42), (Psalms 118:22), (Acts 4:11) and not the Roman Catholic Church.

Was Peter infallible as is claimed the pope is?

Peter was not infallible as the one who he is said to precede claims to be. For on many occasions, Peter fell short of the required standards (all humans do). For in the very chapter of Matthew 16:23, Peter had contrasted with Jesus when Jesus fore narrated His death and resurrection. Peter denied Jesus three times (John 18:15-27), (Luke 54:60). For Peter was never to escape the human instinct by himself.

Paul castigated Peter over Peter's shaky stand about the gentiles' status. He (Peter) was only put right by Paul on this particular issue (Galatians 2:11-14). If Peter is the foundation of the papacy and we see Peter being corrected, can the pope equally be corrected by another person? Would he still be infallible? History tells us that whoever has stood in the way of the Pope have had to face very tough times (Galileo was confined for insisting the earth is round as against being flat).

Yet even scripture (which the Catholic Church claimed to protect, if at all it is to be protected), is very clear on the right shape of the earth. The earth is circular in shape (Isaiah 40:21-22), (Proverbs 8:27). And Job 26:7 rightly says the earth is held hanging on nothing, and that is what rightly it is. So there was no scripture the Pope was protecting. For scripture is self sufficient. He was simply protecting the view of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Pope as a person is no divine person. He equally is subject to spiritual vulnerability (just as any other human is) whose priorities keep shifting everyone second. And if the one billion plus Christians world over were to be entrusted to the person of the Pope as the Roman Catholic Church is struggling to make it happen, how such would be an unexplainable spiritual danger to all! The Pope is simply an individual whom some people choose to hold highly in their own view. If to say, everyone Christian is a Pope of their own. NO HUMAN IS INFALLIBLE!

On the account of the above, Paul and Peter belonged to no religious sect. They were simply Christians and they loved CHRIST. They taught the doctrine of Jesus Christ and not that of the Catholic Church, nor that of any other sect.

Christianity is all about the person (Christ) of Jesus and His teachings. Anything short of or more to that is heresy. If to say, Peter and Paul, and all the Apostles only taught what was instructed them by Jesus Christ. For the doctrine of the Catholic Church (as rightly is) is way different from that of Jesus Christ. Equally so are the teachings of these great men of the Christian Faith (Paul and Peter).

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HOW COMPARABLE IS GOD'S LOVE WITH MAN'S LOVE?

What is Love?

The Greek language (the language of the New Testament) uses two different words to describe and define love. The most commonly used Greek word translated "love" in the New Testament is "agape." This love translates into God's love for us. It is non-partial. This kind of love can also be called Spiritual love. It is sacrificial love probably best exemplified by God's provision for our rebellion:

"For God so loved (agape) the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

The gift of God's son as a provision for sin was given to all humans, regardless of who we are. God's love is unconditional.

In contrast, our love is usually conditional and based upon how other people behave toward us. This kind of love is based upon familiarity and direct interaction. The Greek word "phileo" defines this kind of love, often translated "brotherly love." Phileo is a soulish (connected through our emotions) kind of love - something that can be experienced by both believers and non-believers.

This is in contrast to agape, which is love extended through the spirit. Agape love requires a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, since the non-regenerated soul is unable to love unconditionally. Agape love gives and sacrifices expecting nothing back in return.8

If you study the Bible and get to know about Peter's character, you will find that Peter was more often overtaken by his emotions and often responded to situations emotionally, rather than thinking before acting. Sometimes this kind of response led to good things, e.g., Peter walking on the water to meet Jesus (Matthew 14:25-33).

Whereas at other times, Peter's response was inappropriate (he was interrupted by God while suggesting that he build three tabernacles, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:4). Peter was quite proficient at expressing phileo love, and was probably very popular because of his dynamic character. However, God wants us to express both phileo love and agape love.

There are not any similarities of how God loves and how humans love. God's love is genuine in every sense of the word. On the other hand though, there are loads of differences between how God loves and how humans love. Among the many are the following:

• Man's love is conditioned on material gain, God's love on the other hand is not conditioned on any material gain.
• Man's love is only seeming, God's love on the other hand is truly so.
• Man's love is limited, God's love on the other hand is not limited.
• Man's love is graded, God's love on the other hand is equal for all.

Man's love is conditioned on material gain, God's love on the other hand is not conditioned on any material gain.

For humans, love is pretty based on what we can materially gain from each other. Rather, our version of love is for what we can gain if at all we went on to love (but if not for sheer pretense). A case in view of this is the fact that; a man loves a woman primarily for sexual gains from her, so is the woman. If she hadn't been his wife or if he hadn't been her husband, the love to be expressed would rather be a whole lot different. There is always somewhat a reason for which we express love (the human version of love - phileo), a reason I would say is selfishly founded.

A clear example of man's love is of the story of Amnon and Tamar (2Samuel 13). Amnon appeared to love Tamar for purely a sister (biological). He expressed this in ways that Tamar never suspected anything else other than being Amnon's sister.

Yet behind everything Amnon did for Tamar was only intended to get her into a situation whereby he would hurt her. He managed to lure her and he indeed raped and hurt her severely. And for the fact that Amnon's love was purely selfish, he after raping her hated her like never before. A very true example that man's love is always pointing to something to gain. 

God's love on the other hand is unconditional. God is never looking out for what He gains from us (none there is), He actually loves us for what He is giving us in return. Jesus died on the cross not for what He could gain, but solely for our redemption. God manifested His love to us through His only Son Jesus Christ (1John 4:19).

Now, some people go on to argue that God's love is also conditioned on getting us love Him in return. I can categorically state this, God doesn't need our love to exist. God is self sufficient. It is man who stands to lose if we detach ourselves from God. For God loved us before we did love Him (John 4:19). God's condition (if at all any), only stands to our salvation. If even a mortal parent knows how to love their children, yet they are wicked, how about the all holy and all righteous God (Isaiah 49:15-16), (Luke 11:11-13), (Matthew 7:9-10).

Man's love is only seeming, God's love on the other hand is truly so.

As mortal beings, we love selfishly (it is all about me), if not, then it shouldn't be. For there is an evil seed/DNA in every human. Every one only loves and hates strategically. Man's love can hardly stand a trial or a test. I do agree that there are people who may sacrifice for others, but even then, it is purely out of the maturity of the seed of love planted in there by God Himself. The seed or the DNA of love is never in mortals. Love is spiritual.  Love begins in the heart and it bears fruit.

For love is only of God and it is only of God that one can truly love (1John 4:7). By His very nature, God is love (1John 4:8, 16). True love in any mortal only has its source in God. God loves all even when He is hated. God gives love for hate, He gives blessings for curses.

God is gracious and merciful, and He knows that we are only misled by the devil to do evil. Thus He (God) commissioned a project through Jesus Christ to disentangle man from sin, but not to condemn him. That is; God is reconciling man to himself through Jesus Christ by never counting our sins (2Corinthians 5:19).

Unlike us (mortals), God's love does not depend on how one behaves toward Him (God) (Matthew 5:45). God is calling on us to love when it is most unsuitable for us to, much more so when we gain nothing materially. This kind of love is the love that Jesus taught and illustrated in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-27). In this parable, Jesus taught that this kind of love is selfless.

And with this kind of love, the way Jesus illustrates how it is expressed, it does not depend on what status one is. That is; for one to be able to express it, it doesn't require him to be one thing or the other. It has nothing to do with persona. Say for example being or not being in a honorable position.

It is for this reason that Jesus stripped Himself of all the glory and the honor for absolutely nothing else but to set man free from the torment of the devil. Thus for the Bible to say that love does not boast itself (1Corinthians 13:4). Whoever expresses this kind of love stands to be seen aligning with Agape love.

For the Priest could have not only avoided helping the wounded man because he lacked in Agape love. He could have also been overtaken by the persona of being a priest. But we learn that Agape love is not at all conditioned on anything that is.

In all this, the gospel of Jesus Christ is telling us that it never matters what positions we may occupy as individuals. No. Never! The Good Samaritan couldn't have been as rich, but two things he had in plenty; love and mercy. But the Priest lacked in all this.

Yet the Priest could have never been any slightly justified by the position he occupied. And considering how Jesus illustrates this parable, the Good Samaritan was not bogged down by what he was or what he had, he was only powered by love. Love should then be the engine of whatever we do and engage in.

Man's love is limited, God's love on the other hand is not limited

Man's love is limited in terms of; to what extent can someone do something for another? Will a mere mortal man die for a brother? Man only loves, (if at all he does) when it is convenient for us. When it tends to bring costs, we are readily candidates to give up. God's love is not limited, though! It has no boundaries (John 15:13).

Despite that He was severely tortured, and shamefully crucified, Jesus stack on His mission to save man. His LOVE was proven when He forgave on the cross those who crucified Him rather than curse them for the brutality they had exhibited on Him (Luke 23:34). Whatever Jesus did was purely driven by LOVE. 

Man's love is graded, God's love on the other hand is equal

Man's love is graded basing on friendship, biological closeness, proximity etc. On the other hand, God's love is rooted in righteousness. It never discriminates on account of race, tribe, biological closeness. Jesus equally died for the African as He did for the White, Jew, Arab or Asian. Everybody of any origin is of value to God.

God's love is not based on any of our physical attributes. For God loves the person in a person. He (God) loves the invisible person. Thus the reason one will never understand God's ways. One will not understand why God loves a person who doesn't seem literally to benefit in anyway.

Love is all. It is not only by giving that we can express love. No. Not at all. But giving is one of the best ways by which one can express love for another. In this, God gave us His Son Jesus Christ. And in the same, Jesus Christ gave us His life when He laid it down for us. By the love of Jesus (as He manifested it on the cross) we have confidence in Him and we follow Him effusively. And in this, we learn that love is not about self, but about others.

Jesus won everything from us as love, respect, honor etc because each one can truly testify that Jesus Christ loved us in every way one may choose to view it.

NB Love (Agape) for others will surely earn you all  from them. Rather rooted admiration that is not simply based on emotions.

Love is not about smiling to someone. Love is not about appearing to love someone. We are not only to appear loving. No. Not at all.  We don't simply claim to love. Love is life and is to be lived. It is in this same spirit that the Apostle Paul expounds and presents love quite how it is supposed to be and the way it is (1Corinthians 13).

According to this scripture (1Corinthians 13), it pretty requires another topic to expound on each of the expressions the Apostle Paul uses to define what exactly love is. Say for example that love is not provoked, that love never fails, that love does not seek for its own, etc. Thus to say; Love is open ended. All the rest will end, but love will always be. And LOVE will always win.

It is then very catastrophic if one mortal relies on another mortal for true love. You stand to be stupefied eternally if you ever imagine that anyone human being loves you with no limit.

The oblivion of God's Agape love is the very reason we continually keep under unrelenting torment of the evil one. When one unleashes hate on you (used by the devil), they love it that you get broken in the heart and thereby begin to feel as a nobody, helpless, useless, devastated, hopeless and motionless if without their self perceived help to drive you on. All such happens to us because we doubt that God truly loves us.

This kind of scenario makes us (on many occasions) to compromise on many of our personal values and principles. Such a false feeling gets one to falsely believe that it does them more good to win people's approval rather than to please God and align themselves in the way of God's true love.

It does truly not matter at all what happens! The Agape love of God will always keep us moving. God's love for every individual is never based on any person's opinion. God will not require to consult on anybody else to love a person. No. Never! God loves everybody just how they are ,no matter what anybody's view and opinion are.

Stand strong no matter what befalls you, God's love for you is never conditioned in any sense that is. If you have embraced Jesus, that is all that is required of you. GOD LOVES YOU! But if you are yet to embrace Jesus, you ought to do so. Yet He (God) still does love you! But in Jesus, God has provided us a way that in Him (Jesus Christ), we stand assured and strong. And if God loves us, there will always be a way where there seems to be no way!

Mortals can only learn to LOVE. However, the true content of the word is exclusively of God. We can only compare in terms of differences not similarities because there are none.

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THE PARABLE OF THE GRAIN OF WHEAT

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24).

When Jesus said this, He was referring to how much His death would bear much fruit. Yet the same statement can carry immense lessons to us.

It is a must that Jesus had to die because sin is consequential (Romans 6:23). That Jesus offered Himself to be surety in place of the rest meant that He couldn't have escaped death. Man being a sinner was meant to die. But the righteous Jesus placed Himself in place of the sinner.

Rather Jesus became the advocate for the sinful man so that the sinner through Jesus could be accepted by God the Father.

In Christ we are regenerated and made anew. For we have all sinned and have all fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Yet in Christ, everyone is given another opportunity to escape past human faults.

Thus while the rest were pretty oblivious of what he could have meant, being the high priest at the time, Caiaphas made a statement that even he (personally) didn't understand what exactly the hidden meaning of it was for. For he said; it was better for one person to die in order to save the nation (John 11:50-51).

Jesus ought to have died so as to make meaning of His mission. The mission was to save man from eternal spiritual death. Thus it is pretty of much significance that when Jesus gave up His Spirit, many saints were resurrected and were seen on the streets of Jerusalem (Matthew 27:50-53).

Equally so, we (Christians) have to keep track with Jesus. We ought to to keep to Him in His death on the cross (and the human shame therewith) (which is but to bring us life). We ought to die to sin and rise with Him (Jesus) to a holy and righteous life which is but to the glory of the Father. In this way, we can be of use to save many others.

But away from simply looking at it in terms of numbers, it also pretty teaches us many lessons in terms of answering many questions concerning death and eternity. For apart from having many come to Jesus (the billions of Christians), there is the part that He made it pretty real that there is life after death.

Jesus' death and His subsequent resurrection brought Him indisputable glory, but it brought us (His followers) assurance that the fact that He resurrected (which only comes after death), if we yield to Him in faith, He surely brings us eternal life (John 3:16; 5:24; 11:25; 14:6).

A grain if sowed in the earth can't live again unless it allows dying. It is thus after this earthly life that one can live the life after death (1Corinthians 15:35-38).

 By what He went through, Jesus assured us that the mortality of the flesh is not an end in itself. Thus, much as those who refuse to embrace Jesus will resurrect to eternal damnation, the rest of us who have accepted and followed Him will resurrect to eternity in heaven with the Father (John 5:28-29).

Thus, because Jesus accepted to die so He could resurrect, should make us have the confidence of life after death, though ideally the fear of death (the state of unconsciousness) can't completely be done away with.

Jesus had pleaded with the Father to avoid it (death) (Matthew 26:39), (Mark 14:36), (Luke 22:42). Yet He had to die because He was the seed that would give birth to many more seedlings. And because He (Jesus) died, He has borne more fruit in us. Yet after death, Jesus is now risen.

There was no another way for Jesus to do it. Equally so, there is no another way for you to go to heaven unless you are subjected to mortality, or you are caught up in the rapture (if you are sure you unceasingly stand well with the Lord).

But this also teaches us that in the literal world and life we are, when we come to Christ, it is pretty a requirement that we die to the former self and thereby assume another life in Jesus Christ (2Corinthians 4:10). The way of life that allows us to bear fruit.

Jesus came to save us from the consequential sin which we inherited by being the offspring of Adam (the first man to live on earth). Thus if we insist to remain in the life that we lived before we met Christ, then we can't bear fruit. We can’t bear fruit because we have not died away. Thus Jesus went on saying; "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:25).

For just as the grain of wheat will remain the same if it doesn’t allow dying, so it will be that if one doesn’t allow the sinful part of him to die off a complete death, he remains as he is and thereby unprofitable.

The old nature of us has to die off so that we are filled with the new nature of Christ (Romans 6:5-7). And if we can't bear fruit, then we can't be accepted of the Father. Yet that Christ is alive, it is so that if He died and rose again from the dead, we (who submit to Him) are also alive together with Him in faith (Romans 6:8-10).

You need Jesus to live

Thus when a person is Born Again, he is a new creature and all the old has gone and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:16-19). In this then, we begin to live a life that is not of us, but which is of Christ which enables us to live profitably and to the glory of God. And by doing this, the non-believers will come to learn of our God and the power in yielding to Him (God). Such a way of life will draw them near to God. For the life of a Christian must be transparent and should be there for everybody's view (Matthew 5:13-16).

But also, if a grain dies in earth (when sown) so that from it a new plant germinates and grows, does it mean it has gone into oblivion? The answer to this question is "yes" and "no". It is "yes" because it has given away itself so that it can bear fruit. And that means that to be able to bear fruit for God, there is something to give up on. Rather fruit may never be borne if one does not give away certain things. Watch out what is failing you in your spiritual progress. That part of you which is failing you is the one to die away so you can bear fruit.

And it is "no" because it has not gone all away. For it has only undergone a process of transformation so that it can give way to the better part of it.  It is that transformed person that God is looking for in us. That person can only be in Jesus Christ. So then, the fear of going into oblivion is only sourced in the devil. For it is simply a process of transformation, but not going out of existence.

And when the old grain dies away, and grows into a plant, it multiplies pretty much (more seeds come into being). Thus to say; it is only the old sinful man who is to die away and thereby give way to a new man who in Christ Jesus bears fruit and lives a renewed life. So then, the same person remains but the form of that person has been allowed to be transformed into another person who can bear fruit. This is how we can live a life but to the glory of the Father.

We ought to note that we are the ambassadors of the heavens. An ambassador is a government of one country in another country if to say. Rather an ambassador represents what the home government stands for. Having not been like Him (Jesus or God for that matter), yet by coming to Him, we are given an opportunity to share in both; His suffering (though we may not have to hang like He did) and victories. 

When we come to Jesus, it is so that we accept that He died for the right cause and do share in it. In this, it so is that He (Jesus) exchanges life for death for us (Galatians 2:20).

Thus then, when one is Born Again, he begins to appear in the Crucifixion and resurrection of Christ (but figuratively). The former and sinful man is let go and another man with the life and righteousness of Christ (the man to live eternally) is let to protrude.

In all this, there is the great element of SACRIFICE. Have you made a sacrifice in your life? How much was it? For who was that sacrifice?

 

It is how you answer these questions that you will know if the self wishing part of you has died away and given way to a person who can confidently and reliably say; “follow me as I follow Christ” (1Corinthians 11:1).

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DOES GOD REALLY EXIST?

While in the mundane, we encounter countless sorts of people from countless of backgrounds and walks of life. Each one encounters with another; with whom they agree or differ in faith, culture, etc. But in terms of Spiritual life; the following categories apply;

1. Committed Believers, 
2. Misguided Believers 
3. Non-committed Believer
4. Non-Believers (Atheists).

Each of these categories of people will react differently when they meet each other. And equally so, the methods used in terms of approach and language may have to be shaped that way. Yet all would have to call for utmost assiduousness.

There is much about God. Yet what is manifest to us is the least. And even then, one can hardly tell all the least that is manifest to us if to have it all consumed.

Moses wrote that the secret things belong to the Lord (Deuteronomy 29:29). And only what is revealed to us is enough for us not to be oblivious of who God is and that He is.

Even in the literal world, not everybody is to know everything. For example, there are matters which are to be known to husband and wife and not to the children (basing on the hierarchy and the given reasons for such a scenario). Do you realize that organizations, nations, families etc have top secrets?

Jesus admonished the disciples that He had had much to tell them, but it wasn't the time to do so because they wouldn't bear it (John 16:12).

Paul wrote that we only know in bits. That we don't have the full knowledge because it is not yet time to know all, but when the right time comes, we will then know everything (1Corinthians 13:9-10). You and I (may) not have what it takes to know all if to say.

Amongst the many things scripture tells us about God are the few following;

God is Spirit (John 4:24)

With this, it so means that the carnal man can't see God. For if God is Spirit, so it requires that we can only see Him if in the Spirit. Thus for scripture to say; God is Spirit and those who worship Him must do so in Spirit and in truth.

In this then, it is quite unfounded for one to claim God is not in existence when they have not taken a step to know if He is (yet indeed God is). Take for example if one loved to be a doctor but doesn't want to take the steps to become one. Take for another example that one would claim that Canada does exist simply because he has not been there, nor has he taken steps to get there so as to prove if Canada is or is not.

If then one would sincerely love to ascertain the Supreme Being is, it isn't simply a wish. There are steps to take and some efforts to apply.

The Soviets are known for having been at the forefront of any and every denial that there is ever the Supreme Being. The first man to access the outer space was a Russian called Yuri Gagarin on 12th April, 1961. The world celebrated him for such an achievement ever in the history of the human race. In response to this, the Soviet Union leader  called Nikita Khrushchev (1958-1964) commented that when Gagarin went to outer space, he saw "only" the stars and other objects and not God. He thus concluded that that was confirmation there is no Supreme Being.

What Nikita failed to understand is that God is not a literal being, neither does He wish to be. God is Spirit and whoever wishes to get to the spirit has to do so by taking the necessary steps. And since God is spirit, any and every steps to be taken must be spiritual.

For take for example that if Gagarin had not taken the necessary steps to go to outer space, would he have ever known what there is? Or would one who lived before Gagarin be right by denying there is outer space, or if it is there how it appears? Equally so, if one sincerely loves to know the existence of the Supreme Being, he takes certain steps, but not simply to deny God is. 

Now that both Khrushchev and Gagarin are already out of this earthly life, where they are; they must have already reliably proven if the Supreme Being is or He is not. For if life comes from somewhere, it must be coming from a Being because it is life.

If life is lost at a point, then where is it lost? Who takes it but has not given it? At a time "T", all these questions will reliably be answered. Yet make sure it is not impossible to reverse the trend when all the truth is clearly visible. For what do I lose if I insist there is the Supreme Being when He is not, if to ask? When I get there and He is not, then what is it? Yet I will carry on to insist the Supreme Being is because it is wiser and prudent this way.

For consider what already is available for our consumption. Say for example the planet earth on which we are. Could the  design of this planet earth have simply happened? Is this planet earth simply rotating just at the proportionate speed on its own, so that everything in it is maintained with no antagonism at all?

Is this planet simply holding itself in space? Consider also that unlike the rest of the planets, this planet is self sustaining with everything that is vital for life to thrive. And each of these is right in the quantities that it is required. Could all such be simply occurrences?

Consider also the measurements in the spacing in the outer space between the objects there are, which is accurately so, so much that any slight change in this would create disaster for all the dwellers of this planet earth.

The planet earth is accurately spaced from the sun and the moon. The Moon is only able to give light by reflecting off the rays of the sun. Yet all this is simply the least of all that I can tell.

Could all such art and design have simply worked out itself? What a wonder way things can simply work out themselves!!!??? Am I really mistaken to believe the Supreme Being is?! Which is prudent? Is it to say the Supreme Being is not when actually He is? Or to say He is and He indeed is? Yet good enough, the time is nigh that each individual will have these questions satisfactorily answered.

The Earth the Sun and the Moon

The case of good and evil

In spirit and soul, could it ever be true that either good or evil stems from nowhere? That good is simply good? How and where could it have come to be known as so? What is being good anyway?

How about evil? What is the source of that inherent drive for either good or evil if at all it comes from nowhere as some people would love us to believe?

Where do the conflicting voices come from? I have happened to have discussions with some Doubters and Atheists. One thing I have come to understand of them, is that they simply wish God wasn't there!!! Such people simply want to be independent of anything and everything.

These people may not rather have a strong belief in what they advocate for because there is no tangible reliable proof for it. Yet there is enough reliable proof that the Supreme Being indeed is.

In an effort to try to disapprove the existence of the Supreme Being, some people have been caught arguing and trying to put God to the test if at all He is. Yet God will never approve He is how you want it because that is not how He works. Rather instructions are to come from God and not the other way round. God is Supreme to you and He knows what to do when. And by your existence, He is already proven He is.

If you are a parent and your child says; you can beat and kill me if you wish". Would you do what the child asks for because they have asked? Do you have to force your parenthood on a child?

If you are a husband and your wife provokes you to beat and kill her if you wish, do you do just that? Does God have to come to your level to prove He is? God is and that is simply what it is.

The way to know God.

In the Old Testament times, God revealed Himself to individuals in various ways (Genesis 18:1-2), (Exodus 17:6; 40:36), (Numbers 9:17; 9:22; 20:11). But in the New Testament times, God has revealed Himself to us all by sending His Son Jesus Christ. For God has always had a perfect plan for us. But the plan is a mystery to us. We need God so we can know what this plan is

Jesus Christ is the Mediator between man and God (1Timothy 2:5). For Jesus attests that He came from heaven and for anything and everything we love to know about God, then we should look to Him (John 8:23; 14:8-11).

That to have accepted Christ is to have chosen the right and correct way to come to the knowledge of not only knowing God is, but to come to the knowledge of all the truth. And the truth of all is Jesus Christ.

On this then, to deny Jesus is to have taken the biggest step never ever to know the being of the Supreme Being. Yet God wants all men to be saved and to come to know all the truth (1Timothy 2:3-4).

One of the devil's key battles is to antagonize the way to God. An Atheist goes on to protest God's existence simply because he has chosen to deny God is, or if he chooses to ascertain if God is, he lacks a clue how to do it. It is in such a state of confusion, oblivion, and mendacity that the devil presents himself as if he is the way to God.

All this has resulted in the confusion people are faced with. Everybody thinks they have taken the right way. Even the sorcerer is aware there is the Supreme Being and he does believe (only falsely) he has taken the right way to get to God. Thus Jesus admonished us by showing us the way which is only but in Him (John 14:6).

God is eternal (Deuteronomy 33:27).

This is to say; there is no time when God is not. God's being is forever and ever. No one knows where God comes from (that is to say if at all He does). And no one knows where He is heading to. God is immortal.

God is not subjected to the dictates of anything. He is self existing. He lives only by Himself (Job 36:26), (Psalms 102:12), (Isaiah 41:4, 40:28), (Habakkuk 1:12).

But man and all the rest of the creatures aren't eternal. Man's days are numbered. Man lives for a while and he is no more (Genesis 6:3). That alone tells how man is lacking in anything and everything that would make him challenge the being of God.

God is the Supreme Being. He (God) is the sole giver of anything and everything called life to everything (Numbers 16:22; 27:16), (Jeremiah 32:27).

God is supreme to any and everything. That is; above God, there is no other being. Only God gives life. And all the spirits of whether heaven or earth have their origin in God. Without God, nothing would have ever been if to say. For God is the Father of all spirits (Ephesians 4:6), (Hebrews 12:9).

God is the Alpha and the Omega/The Beginning and the End (Revelation 1:8, 1:17; 21:6-7, 22:13), (Isaiah 44:6; 48:12).

In this, we learn that anything and everything is because God is. And anything and everything is not because God is not, if to say. That is; if anything and everything is, there is no other way it could have ever come into being except that it had to have began with a Being. And if anything and everything is to be no more, there is no other besides God by whom it hits its end. Thus then, anything and everything begins with God and it is God who brings to an end.

God the Creator of all

God is the Creator of anything and everything (Genesis 1:1), (Isaiah 40:28; 45:7), (Nehemiah 9:6). That is; if God is not, then nothing is. One may choose to live in denial but no one can do more than that. I call it simple denial because if it wasn't, then humans would dictate anything and everything. The fact that a lot is beyond what we know and can do tells that it is to someone well above. Say for example, who takes away your breath?

If God is our Creator, who then is the Creator of God?

First of all, if to ask; what position is man that he should ask such a question? Is this question from a position of having found out what tells the Supreme Being is not? What is the evidence that the Supreme Being is not? For if we ask, what answer is one craving for? Do we need to ask such a question? Isn't there literal evidence that God is?

For whether one disputes the Judge's powers or not, if He (God) does pass the judgment, it will stand anyway. There are already judgments which the Supreme Being has already passed on all creation as first hand proof He is Supreme to any and everything. What can you change?

God is Omnipresent (Psalms 139:7-12).

God is anywhere and everywhere. Man can't be anywhere and everywhere at the same time. Man is limited by factors well beyond his control. For nations and regions have boundaries.

There are places man wouldn't wish and can't dare to go to; such as the sun, the grave. Or sometimes man is limited by the hour of the time. Say at night, man will retreat to their houses. Man tries to tune nature so as to make it habitable for him. Yet God is never limited by any such factors as to dictate when to be where, or to be in one area and not another.

Yet all the above is said but in literal terms. Say God is anywhere and everywhere because He even knows the state of the mind. That is; God knows the person of any and everybody. Man can literally hide his person from one another, but not to God. 

The fact that there is a part of any and everybody that is never known to the other tells there is the Supreme Being to whom the inner man is answerable to. For only that Supreme Being and the spirit of man know the state of any and every individual inner being. Say like when you would trust someone but he does the opposite. For what he is to do is only known to him. Yet he can never hide it from the Supreme Being.

God is Omniscient (Isaiah 48:3)

In this, it is that God is all knowing. That nothing happens anywhere without the knowledge of God. Thus scripture admonishes us that even what is exclusively known to an individual is only not known to fellow humans, but it is known to God (Matthew 5:28), (Luke 12:2-3).

Say for example when someone imagines something whether good or bad in heart and mind. By the heavenly standards, if it is a bad intentioned thought, it is already to be sin. This is so because all we do begins within. It is not simply an occurrence. More often than not, it is planned. On this then, how all we do even in secret is known is the Omniscience of the Supreme Being and that is God.

More attributes which are exclusive to God.

God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), (2 Samuel 22:32-34), (Daniel 4:35), (Luke 1:37), (Isaiah 42:8, 43:11-21, 44:24, 44:6, 45:5, 46:9-11), (Hosea 13:4).

God is Holy. That is rather He is exceptional and unique in how He is and how He works (Isaiah 6:2-3).

God is Omnipotent (All powerful) (Matthew 28:18).

God is sovereign (Deuteronomy 3:24).

God is faithful (Numbers 23:19), (Deuteronomy 10:17).

God is merciful (Deuteronomy 4:31), (Joel 2:12-14), (Matthew 5:7), (Hebrews 4:16), (Ephesians 2:4-7), (Titus 3:4-5), (1Peter 1:3-4).

God is righteous (Psalms 48:10, 71:19, 36:6, 97:6, 119:142, 149:17), (Deuteronomy 32:4), (Isaiah 45:21), (Jeremiah 12:1), (John 17:25), (Job 37:23), (Romans 8:33). Scripture does affirm that righteousness is the foundation of God's throne (Psalms 97:2).

God is gracious (Ephesians 2:8), (Romans 11:6), (Acts 15:39-40), (2Corinthians 12:8-9).

God is love (1John 4:7, 4:8, 4:16, 4:19), (John 3:16, 14:8-11).

If you have belongings, and you do not belong to SOMEONE or SOMEWHERE? This is your time to submit to God through His Son Jesus Christ. You can't know more about God if you have not taken a step to know Him. 

The state in which you are now, is that you are at war with God. He can never reveal Himself to you like that. Only in Jesus do you have the golden opportunity to be a friend to God. And once you become a friend, then you will know all that you are supposed to know. And when you get to know it, then you will know what to do. And when you get to know what to do and do it well, then you will have saved your soul.

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THE PARABLE OF THE UNWORTHY SERVANT

Luke 17:10
So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'

What is being the unworthy servant/who is the unworthy servant?

 

Being the unworthy servant can be said to be a servant who is but not by merit, qualification, ability or social status, but he only is by factors all dependent on the appointing authority. For it is not that having been appointed to serve is because one has done much to be so.

Thus Paul says he was only a servant by way of being counted faithful (1Timothy 1:12). In this, Paul meant that; it was not because he had been faithful, but rather that; he had only been counted faithful. For many others (more so those of the team of the disciples), could have served in Paul's place (by virtue of their status) (having been with Jesus), but that it was him chosen to do so, could have never been because of factors dependent on him.

If it had ever been so, Paul could have never fulfilled any of such factors. For he had been the least of all the apostles and the chief persecutor of the Church (1Corinthians 15:9), (1Timothy 1:13), (Philippians 3:6), (Ephesians 3:8), (Galatians 1:13). For in the human sense, Paul can't have been the figure that he is in the body of Christ then and today. Paul person gives us a very good lesson today. Rather he can be a mirror for many Christians.

Paul cheered the stoning of Stephen

Jesus told the parable of the unworthy servant to the disciples in (Luke 17:7-10). Jesus must have aimed this parable at the disciples because He was preparing them for ministry. He wanted them not only to assume titles (but to acquire the character of the calling).

Jesus must have been well aware (according to how He was teaching) that the human instinct, which is but blend with the satanic pride would easily sway the disciples from the reality of the ministry to rather only consider the titles (as leaders) than to consider it as a calling to serve.

 Who is the greatest?

While at the last supper, an argument cropped up amongst the disciples as to who was to be greater than the other (Luke 22:24). Heated feelings in this regard must have been boiling amongst the disciples, and it only so happened that this was the opportune time to talk over it.

But Jesus replied to them that; the leader amongst you shall be your servant (Luke 22:25-27), (Matthew 20:26; 23:11). In saying this to the disciples, Jesus wanted to deal with the egos (the persona) which tend to override many of us while in positions of leadership.

Jesus was teaching us that it is not rather about being the leader, but what you do as a leader. The very reason Jesus emphasized to the disciples that a leader is one who serves rather than one who is served or one who wilds respect and authority.

Why the unworthy servant?

Yet the unworthy servant is not termed as so for being so. But it is a call to serve with utmost humility. Rather to avoid self aggrandizement (Matthew 6:1-4; 6:5-6). For none is a servant of God by what they believe they can do.

Being a servant of God is not about what the servant has done/can do or can't do. Rather it is not upon one person to be a servant of God. So then, one ought to endeavor to avoid conceit while in the service of God (1Timothy 6:3-4), (Romans 26:12), (Proverbs 26:12).

This calls for a flourishing relationship with God rather than with men. For you have not done enough having served in one way after the other (Luke 17:7-9).

 Does God ever honor His servants?

Yes, God does indeed honor His servants. Jesus taught that if anyone loves to serve Him, then he is to follow Him. Thus serving Jesus is as valuable as following Him. In this, nothing is less or more than the other. It is therefore on this that such a servant will be honored and where Jesus is, such a servant too will be (John 12:26). So then, the unworthy servant is not so because there is no value in him. The term "unworthy servant" serves to make a faithful and obedient servant who submits to the master in all measure.

The power in an example

The unworthy servant is also termed like this so as to instill the character of being exemplary. This drives us to the power in an example. In this, God is the supreme example for us all (Leviticus 19:2). Jesus admonished us by saying the same (Matthew 5:48). For God was always with Jesus because Jesus did the things that pleased the Father. So, God sent us Jesus to be the mediator between man and God, and to be exemplary to us (John 5:19-24).

In the same vein, when the apostles and the disciples learnt from Jesus, they transmitted that to us (1Corinthians 11:1). Paul wonders how one teaches others to live a certain way, but then he practices another way! (Romans 2:1-5, 2:18-23). 

The Apostles and the Disciples then acted accordingly and called on us to be exemplary (1Timothy 4:12). So, if we love to impact peoples' hearts, it is certainly by being exemplary (1Peter 3:1). For many a time, the Apostles intervened by using examples as to put right the wrong perception of scripture by some people. For some had insisted that the gospel was not for the gentiles but Peter corrected them by referring to scripture (Acts 11, 11:15-17). In this, Peter was being exemplary to the flock.

Some Jewish Christians had insisted that gentiles could never be Christians unless they practiced the Jewish rituals and norms. But the Apostles intervened and corrected them referring them to how Jesus never limited Himself only to the Jews. Jesus even went to the Gentiles and performed miracles there (Acts 15:4, 15:6-12).

Jesus washes the disciples' feet

We learn that Jesus washed the feet of the disciples (John 13:1-17). And after having washed their feet, He told them why He had done so. He washed their feet so that they could learn from Him. For the disciples were but by and for Jesus. Jesus was their master and teacher. But how He taught and demonstrated to them was to notify them that He had not come to exercise power and authority over them but to show them the way and the right way.

For Jesus came to lead us to the knowledge of God's plan for man. In His teachings then, Jesus meant that it is never about who is who, but who does submit to the will of the Father. So, in all this, Jesus loved to demonstrate to them that; He hadn't simply come to pass on instructions to them, but He was equally to be part and would go ahead of everything He had taught them. For Jesus taught that we are great if we become like children (Luke 9:46-48), (Mark 9:33-37).

Jesus went on to show them how to be like a child by washing their feet. For children are always obedient and submissive. I have learnt this from my children. So, Jesus showed us that this is how one can touch the heart of another. Do you realize that people will take you for what you have done, and not for what status you are?

Jesus washing the disciples' feet

So, when Jesus said and did all this, He was planting and emphasizing the power in setting an example. Thus then, He told them that; just how He had been an example to them, so should they be to others (John 13:15).

The worldly style of leadership

For the mode of leadership of the world is to exercise authority over the rest. Yet this is not so when we serve God (Luke 22:25), (Mark 10:42-45). For it is all service to others and not to be served. A Christian servant only serves so that the master is honored and glorified. That is; we serve only to glorify the master. In this then, we should not be looking for personal honors, but rather we should look for the interests of the master (2Timothy 2:4). This is how well it is for us.

So, in all this, we ought to learn that a servant with the Christian insignia must learn that the reward for our service is of God and not of men. In this then, we must not look for the praise of men but of God. We must serve not expecting material rewards from those we serve if to say.

Our service must be driven by the love of God and not by selfish desires for material gain, and the praise of those we serve. We must serve not expecting to be paid back by anybody else other than our Master who is God. This teaches us not to be selective when we serve. Our service, (as was of Jesus) must be available to any and everybody regardless of any and every factors that may be. We should serve the poor as we ought to serve the rich (with the same spirit and with the same love and care) (Luke 14:12-14).

What example are servants to be?

We are not simply to be examples, but to be of a good example. Say for example not to simply wash people's feet as a ritual (without the Christian substance), but rather to be exemplary even in the heart. That is; we must go as far as being exemplary even to ourselves.

Many Church leaders have done the washing of the feet every Good Friday simply to capture unsuspecting innocent souls but not with the intent our Lord Jesus did it. Rather Jesus did it with all the substance that it is unlike many Church leaders today. But if we make a good example of us, just like Jesus did, then we can wield a lot of authority (rather soft authority) if to say.

Yet if we carry on speaking in the direct opposite of what we demonstrate, it is the very reason that we are simply setting off flames of fire of opposition and disparaging language against us, that we are only left helpless and in need of much more mercy than the would be recipients.

The examples of Moses and Peter


Servants or individuals in positions of leadership for that matter, will tend to influence their followers in many unprecedented covert and overt ways which can be; spiritual or literal, positive and negative. That is to say; leaders will tend to plant their character in those who believe in and follow them.

For consider the case of Moses and the children of Israel when he (Moses) led them to the promised land. On many occasions, they would turn down Moses' instructions directed to them from God.  Upon this, God would punish the rebelling Israelites fiercely.

The children of Israel challenged Moses and the priesthood on whether they would reach the promised land and upon this, they recalled the memories of the life they lived in Egypt (Numbers 14:1-23). God wanted to destroy them but Moses interceded for them before the Lord.

God forgave them, but He insisted that none of them would reach the promised land (Numbers 14:22). Additionally, when Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On, rebelled against Moses and had refused to take his instructions, God opened up the earth and it swallowed them up together with their families (Numbers 16:1-36).

But do you take notice if you have not that; what God punished the children of Israel for, is exactly what Moses did? Moses did not reach the promised land (as did the rest) for refusing to take instructions as how they had been presented to Him. That on certain occasions the people refused to take Moses'  instructions from God can't have been an unfounded scenario.

Upon this, we can pretty conclude that the nature of rebellion was equally present in Moses. It only hadn't manifested, but with an opportunity to present itself, such nature submerged.

Moses had been instructed to speak to the rock, not to strike against it (Numbers 20:8). He rather struck the rock (Numbers 20:10-11). Upon this, just like what had been done to all the rebellious, Moses was equally punished by not being able to reach the promised land (Numbers 20:12-13). Moses indeed did not reach the promised land (Deuteronomy 34:1-7).

Now, I hope you no longer have to wonder why Moses kept interceding to God for the rebellious. Unlike one who would relish a moment when God would fiercely punish those who don't tow their line, at least Moses must have known that the fact that he was the leader of the people, their rebellious nature can't have been unfounded.

The sinful nature originates from Adam. Everybody body is thus potentially a sinner. Sin is not unique to a person. Recall that a leader is so both spiritually and literally.

Moses strikes the rock

Another example is one of Peter. Peter is a man known for many controversies. He would make one commendable statement at one point, but he would counter it with an equally negative one immediately after. He had the commendable revelation that Jesus is the Son of God (Matthew 16:16). But he would immediately stand in the way of the mission of salvation (Matthew 16:22-23).

Peter would make commitments which he would never keep. For he had committed that even if it had meant to die with Jesus, he would die with Him (Matthew 26:34-35), (Luke 22:33). But when a moment presented that rather than to be convicted (and may be subsequently to be executed), it required him to deny Jesus, he equally went on to do so as much he had committed to die with Him (Matthew 26:70-74), (Luke 22:60). Now, how different is such a character (of Peter) from that of Ananias and Sapphira?

Ananias and Sapphira had made a commitment to give all the proceeds from the sale of their plot to the service of God (Acts 5:1-11). They hadn't been forced to make such a commitment. For it had been out of their own that they did make that commitment (whether out of sheer excitement or not). But just like their pastor (Peter) who would make many commitments but would rather find it hard to keep them, Ananias and Sapphira did make a commitment which they did not keep.

Now, is it mistaken that Ananias and Sapphira happened to be in Peter's flock, given Peter's life story? Do you wonder that the character in you will equally attract people of the same character? Will you castigate and disparage another rather than to help them overcome that unbecoming character? Couldn't you be the source of both; their successes and failures? Upon this then, try to understand if the troubling character in your flock is not a replica.

What is a servant to be?


Is a servant to be perfect? No. Not at all. For Paul, Peter, Moses and all the rest would have never been servants of God. Neither I nor you would have ever been. Yet such is the very reason that everyone of us whether leader or no leader, we must act to help one another reach the finishing line. For in all our successes, it is never of us. None of us has made it by themselves. For nothing is of anyone, it is all granted to each one from God (1Corinthians 4:7).

Jesus is not limited to anyone. Jesus is not exclusive to one person. Jesus is to everyone who comes to and confesses Him as Lord and Savior. The disciples had wished that Jesus would be exclusive to them. Upon this, they wondered why another person who was not of the team of the disciples preached the gospel and cast out demons like Jesus and His disciples did (Luke 9:49-50), (Mark 9:38-41).

In this, they wondered who else should do this except us (disciples)? Or if there is another, so it is that we are more special than they. But Jesus reminded them that He ha come for one and for the other.

Jesus is equally available to me as He is to you. Who is and who is not is entirely dependent on Him (Jesus). Thus then, a servant in God's Kingdom must be all embracing to all who are committed to him by the master. Rather, he (the servant) must be so to everyone. And in this, what matters is to accomplish the task rather than a display of the persona.

But this also teaches us that each servant is to mind doing well their task, and to ensure it is accomplished rather than to mind others. It matters what pleases the master and not the servant. For a servant is as important to the master as is the follower or believer for that matter.

Conclusively

 
So, in all this, we ought to learn that a servant must listen carefully to and follow the instructions of the master. Say for example; not to serve the master with coffee when he rather wants food. As that, it is pretty important to understand that you are a servant on terms of the appointing authority. Rather it is what the appointing authority wants (2Timothy 2:5-7).

So then, no matter how humanly unbecoming an instruction may appear to you, your duty is not to choose between what to do and what not to do, or what is and what is not. In that then, the duty of the servant is to listen to and follow the instructions. A servant should never reason with the master.

A servant takes instructions from the master

 As a minister then, you ought to conduct yourself carefully and according to how you have been appointed (Ephesians 4:1). Not to take it for granted that you are a servant of God. For according to the world order, it entirely depends on factors to do with the individual. This is  not so with serving God. For serving God is never about wielding authority, but rather to serve. For serving God calls for self sacrifice thus giving up oneself.

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WHAT IS THE WORD OF GOD?

The word "word" can be defined as a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing used with other words to complete a statement.

But in the context of the term "word of God", it is not to mean a single word used with other words to make complete meaning of a statement. The term "word of God" is used to mean a statement which proceeds from God's mouth intended to accomplish a task.

So it is not said to imply a word (verb or noun), but to define it as not being common as any other statement may be (which is by anybody else but exclusive of God's). For the word of God (who is but all holy and all righteous) comes with power, authority, all command, and sovereignty (Hebrews 4:12).

For a mere word is simply called "a word", meaning it is just a verb or a noun. But the word of God is used with the definitive, exclusive and affirmative word "the". The term "the word of God" carries infallibility, it is irreplaceable and can't be rivaled.

Rather the word "the" means: something which is of its kind or "one of its kind" for that matter. For being the word from God, it will not return to Him until it has accomplished the task for which it is spoken in whoever or wherever it is received (Isaiah 55:10-11). The word of God, never requires guessing and confirmatory examinations because it is unique in the sense that it is.

Everything (both visible and invisible) is but by the word of God. For in the beginning was the word (John 1:1). That is; everything if it was or if it is to be, it must have began with the word of God. The following are some of the characteristics of the word of God;

1. The word of God is eternal. That is all the rest may pass away but the word of God remains (Isaiah 34:4, 40:8, 51:6), (Matthew 24:35), (Luke 21:33), (Mark 13:31), (1Peter 1:25). 
2. The word of God is a consuming fire. For it burns anything to nothing and it is like a hammer that breaks the rocks to pieces (Jeremiah 23:29).
3. The word of God is the lamp unto the feet and it lightens the way (Psalms 119:105).
4. Keeping one's way pure is assured by adhering to the word of God (Psalms 119:9).
5. Blessings come from listening to and obeying the word of God (Luke 11:28).
6. Listening to and keeping the word of God is a reflection of wisdom (Matthew 7:24).
7. It is the word of God which is right and true (Psalms 33:4), (Proverbs 30:5).
8. It is the word of God which brings understanding (Psalms 119:130).
9. The destruction of Heaven and earth will be but by the word of God (2Peter 3:7).
10. Hope is but by the word of God (Titus 1:2).
11. By His word, Jesus performed one miracle after the other (Luke 5:1-11, 7:1-10, 8:22-25), (Matthew 8:5-13, 8:23-27), (Mark 4:35-41), (John 5:1-9).
12. The word of God creates confidence (1Kings 22:28).
13. The word of God is the sword of the spirit (Ephesians 6:17).

Scripture likens the word of God to a seed (Luke 8:11). That just how a seed germinates, grows and multiplies, so it is that the word of God when planted or preached for that matter, it will do the same (Luke 8:15). For the word of God propagates faith (Romans 10:17). Like a mustard seed (the least of all seeds), the word of God has the potential to grow into a large tree upon which the birds of the air will rest.

So, that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God is that; one needs the word of God so as to acquire faith. That one can't please God without faith; is to give a feel of the magnitude of the importance of faith (Hebrews 11:6). Yet faith is but by the word of God.

In that; the word of God is the seed and faith is the fruit. Thus, they are both presented in the form of  a mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32, 13:33, 17:20-21), (Luke 13:18-19, 13:20). Yet what matters is not their size, but what matters is if they are present. For God will work regardless of what size they are. For the fact is that how little they appear does not hinder the potential in them to multiply.

The mustard seed grows into a big tree

So, anything spiritual; be it healing, or progress for that matter, begins with the word of God. For much as the flesh thrives on food, the spiritual man thrives on the word of God. The lack of the word of God causes spiritual impotence and can lead to eventual spiritual death. 

Thus for scripture to say; "...man shall not live by food alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4), (Deuteronomy 8:). For man is a combination of three; flesh, soul and spirit.

For though science should have been treated as a step in trying to understand the majesty of God almighty, man has sought to use it only to challenge God's supremacy and superiority. Yet despite all the human efforts to challenge God, God remains majestic and supreme to all. God's word is therefore equally effective.

Yet away from looking at it in general terms, the word of God can be categorized into three; the Reported word of God, the Live word of God, and the living word of God. All the three categories are well scripted in the Bible.

The Reported word of God

This is the word spoken and written by the prophets, the apostles, Theology historians and the scribes. For though it seemed to have been reported and written by mere men, they only did so by the instruction and guidance of the Spirit of God (2 Peter 1:21). For no one spoke after their own accord (Isaiah 43:1; 43:16, 45), (Jeremiah 5:14).

Thus the reason whether it is written by a fisherman like Peter, or by a doctor like Luke, it is all given the same treatment and it is all to be received with the same respect and hope. For it all comes from the same source and that is God.

For in the Bible is God's guidance and command to man. In the seeming literal absence of the person of God, the Bible (which is but His own word) is. Thus to say; we should be silent when the Bible is silent, and we should shout if the Bible does shout. The Bible is the main resource for instruction and the sure guidance for any and every Christian (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

We must read the Bible for proper guidance

The Live/Rhema word of God

This is the word of God spoken literally and live from God personally. That is; in this, God is not speaking through anybody. In this, God is speaking directly to the intended person. In such a case, there is no such a thing as to paraphrase. For such a statement is reported as how it has been spoken by God personally, and it is reported only by quoting.

There are countless of examples of the live word of God in the Bible. But there are also countless of unreported cases of God speaking directly to individuals. And such people will always say; "the Lord has told me...".

NB We ought to take care about the now common claim; "...the Lord has told me..."  because many people have faked it so that they can be taken seriously and win unsuspecting believer's attention and allegiance.

Scripture warns us to be careful about false prophets and teachers who come camouflaging as servants of God but only to mislead the innocent souls (Matthew 7:15), (Ezekiel 13), (Jeremiah 23:13, 27:9-10), (Nehemiah 27:9-10), (1Kings 22:1-27, 22:34-37). Nevertheless, God surely speaks literally and live as are some of the following cases in the Bible; (Numbers 14:28), (Genesis 15:13), (Acts 9), (Matthew 3:17; 17:5), (Mark 1:11).

The Living word of God

The living word of God is Jesus CHRIST. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:1-4).

Jesus CHRIST is the epitome or perfection for that matter, and the fulfillment of the word of God. He (Jesus) is the seal of all scripture. Thus it is that Jesus is indisputably God. For the word of God is God Himself. For God dressed up His word with human flesh and called Him Jesus (but for saving humans).

For no word is not owned. A word (regardless of how it sounds or appears for that matter) is no more or less than its source. For that matter, that Jesus is the word of God makes it that all that Jesus is, God is. It isn't therefore mistaken to look to Jesus as God. For Jesus is indeed God. On that account then, Jesus and the Father are one. And the Father can never conflict with the Son in anything. That is; Jesus and the Father are a part of each other and perfectly compatible.

On the account then that the word of God is God, it is readily agreeable amongst us all that; what the Bible tells us it is, should be the final verdict. For it is on the same account that we can quote a person and we can take them by their word. It is so because it is to reaffirm that every word has to be owned and there is no word from nowhere. Everybody therefore is what they talk, speak, or say. One is either for or against their word, but it is their word anyway.

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