I Will Build My Church (Five)
This is THE VILLA – Household of God Church. The Church is God’s biggest deal.
(…continues from part FOUR…)
5) Quite pedestrian domesticity it seemed when you read the Mosaic Couch of Genesis 2:18 “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” A careful scriptural study of this verse evokes the phenomenality of scintillating architectural awesomeness. Let me explain what was transpiring in the mind of God. The word ‘good’ is the Hebrew ṭôb (tobe): ‘beautiful, best, bountiful, cheerful, fair, (be in) favour, fine, glad, good (deed, -lier, -liest, -ly, -ness, -s), graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, pleasant, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well (favoured).’ This goodness can only be found in Jesus. He said, “I Am the good Shepherd i.e. Yahweh.”
It does surprise me anytime I hear people say, “God decided to give Adam a wife because he was beginning to feel lonely.” How can anyone allow satanic inordinate stray of the mind to plant eisegetical innuendo inside his reasoning faculty? The word ‘alone’ is bad (bad): ‘(properly) separation; by itself, a part.’ That part of the verse should appropriately read, “It is not pleasant that Adam should remain in his separation.” Adam, at that stage of his life was a perfect, sinless individual, as far as his creation is concerned. God had already, in the council of the Godhead, decided what to do.
Newly created sinless Adam
Adam could never have experienced an alien loneliness for many reasons. He was surrounded by a breathtaking environment, a divinely crafted landscaping excellence. The beauty of the sky, the variety of plants and very friendly animals of various sizes of intricate fashioning all held the lord of the earth in sheer captivating wonder to last years. Adam had not even espied the coolness attraction of large yellowed dusky sun. Neither had he gazed enraptured on the millions of twinkles of the night stars and the silver moon; how could he be suffering from boredom, so too soon, when he was not even up to the age of one earthly day?
Adam, in the light of Divine plan, was different from what the Church is to offer the LORD God: latria. The Church is a congregation of individuals, whose focus is on which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty, Jesus Christ. If Adam must exemplify Jesus, in whose stead he stood as the lord of the world, he must take on a help meet for him, a wife. Why do you think God rated the completion of Day Six, “very good,” and for other days, “good”? None of the accomplishments of Days One to Five met the excellent requirement of the Church. When it comes to Divine interest, the Church remains His paramount enterprise. Because of this enterprise, God built a house for Himself, Garden of Eden, and put Adam and his wife there to the perfection of the latria on earth.
They should have gone the destructive way of Lucifer, his fellow fallen angels and his supportive demonic disembodied spirits, but for the show-stopping phenomenality intent of Divinity, the Adamic elevation of Eden must be saved from going to hell. Satanism could not comprehend why these two beings of the dust should receive Divine unmerited favour. Their case is like that of the Prodigal Son. He wasted divine bestowed resources – free moral agency –; his Creator reminded him of the abundance of love, riches and forgiveness in His possession.
The prodigious son returns and despite the fact that his return is mephitic pollution to the Father’s sacred environment, the impossible happens. The Holy Father wrapped Himself round the son, completely acquitted, all sinful charges dropped in the court of the Divinity. Where and who else can lay any charge on the discharged? Enabling legal enactments that were passed during the theocratic establishment of Israel were, unbeknown to the enemy of the Church, put in place for a way out for Christianity. Exodus 30:15 “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.” This was done only once a year. It is the Divine insurance of the lives of those who paid this money, showing that the insurance policy of companies is biblically derived. God is the original and true Insurer.
In the Book of Matthew 17:24-27 the ‘tribute (money)’ twice mentioned in verse 24 is didrachmon (did’-rakh-mon): ‘double drachma, a silver coin equal to two Attic drachmas.’ Directing the question to Peter in the 25th verse, Jesus asked, “What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?” The term ‘custom’ is telos (tel’-os): ‘an impost or levy; toll, (i.e. indirect tax on goods);’ and ‘tribute,’ this time is not didrachmon; it is kēnsos (kane’-sos): ‘Of Latin origin; properly an enrolment (“census”), that is, (by implication) a tax. Census (among the Romans, denoting a register and valuation of property in accordance with which taxes were paid), in the NT the tax or tribute levied on individuals and to be paid yearly. (our capitation or poll tax).’
Two sides of the statēr
The last 27th verse has, from the lips of Jesus, ‘a piece of money.’ This is statēr (stat-air’): ‘a silver coin equal to four Attic drachmas.’ Four monetary terms of different values we see in this narrative. Only two of them have something to do with Christianity. The kēnsos, is the same as ‘tribute’ of Matthew 22:19; and telos, the same as ’tribute’ of Romans 13:7 are secular levies. The statēr is not different from the didrachmon: while the didrachmon or Jewish half shekel is paid into God’s house, for an insured protection, the statēr is as ecclesiastical because it is actually four drachmon, two each for Jesus and Peter. Four: because God wanted to create the phenomenal new species of intelligent beings. The statēr becomes one whole Jewish shekel. Jesus, the sinless Christ and LORD of the Sabbath, ergo, of the Church, needs not pay this half shekel. Wanting to save mankind, Jesus asked Peter to fish out the statēr, one piece of coin or one indivisible shekel, making us permanently inseparable with the LORD of glory. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out” (Romans 11:33)! Paying the debt of sin for us makes us eternally guiltless in the celestial assizes. It was important that Peter will be the one to pay it into the ecclesiastical treasury. Peter means a small stone: for building. Christianity is a building of redeemed ones of Jehovah. Be smart, do not miss heaven. Become a Christian. Get born again.
You can put on the righteousness of Jesus by getting born again. Say this simple prayer, meaning it from your heart:
“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!”
(Concluded)
Read part Four here
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