Heb 12:3-7 KJV For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
How do we know there is a particular chastening of God in our life, when there are examples where appearance of chastening was not such. Job suffered many things from Satan, God permitted it but it was not chastening Job over a particular sin, contrary to what his friends assumed. We know about the man blind from birth:
Joh 9:1-3 KJV And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
The birth from above, being "born again" I find to be mystical for it is an act of God that we cannot understand:
Joh 3:7-8 KJV Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
There is another understanding of our mystical union with Christ as is spoken by Christ:
Joh 14:20-21 KJV At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Isn't our warm and cordial obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ an indicator of our 'mystical state'? Yet we are all sinners and we can easily view our daily life and see our sinful nature in thought and deed. Do we come to an intense consciousness of, or feeling of separation from our Heavenly Father as if we were in a cold steel box separating us from his love? Can we get to the point we feel only the Holy Spirit can pray for us to pray through us for we are so far astray?
I am writing very personally here. I've been going through a very painful health condition that has put me down, so to speak and I've been in that cold steel box. I have had to study about chastisement, and how can I know if I'm being chastised and if so, for what reason? What is my particular sin that brings this chastisement. When the coldness makes me judge myself if my election is true, I know there needs to be an adjustment in my life. I've come through this and am quite sure of where I went astray, but only I can see it by the illumination of the Holy Spirit. I am a rationalist and shun emotionalism and 'feelings', but I cannot deny the mystical side of our faith. This post is a mix of my study, and application to what I am currently experiencing, and I have the answer for my particular situation as being "in Christ". It's been a rough time for sure!
How do we know there is a particular chastening of God in our life, when there are examples where appearance of chastening was not such. Job suffered many things from Satan, God permitted it but it was not chastening Job over a particular sin, contrary to what his friends assumed. We know about the man blind from birth:
Joh 9:1-3 KJV And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
The birth from above, being "born again" I find to be mystical for it is an act of God that we cannot understand:
Joh 3:7-8 KJV Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
There is another understanding of our mystical union with Christ as is spoken by Christ:
Joh 14:20-21 KJV At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Isn't our warm and cordial obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ an indicator of our 'mystical state'? Yet we are all sinners and we can easily view our daily life and see our sinful nature in thought and deed. Do we come to an intense consciousness of, or feeling of separation from our Heavenly Father as if we were in a cold steel box separating us from his love? Can we get to the point we feel only the Holy Spirit can pray for us to pray through us for we are so far astray?
I am writing very personally here. I've been going through a very painful health condition that has put me down, so to speak and I've been in that cold steel box. I have had to study about chastisement, and how can I know if I'm being chastised and if so, for what reason? What is my particular sin that brings this chastisement. When the coldness makes me judge myself if my election is true, I know there needs to be an adjustment in my life. I've come through this and am quite sure of where I went astray, but only I can see it by the illumination of the Holy Spirit. I am a rationalist and shun emotionalism and 'feelings', but I cannot deny the mystical side of our faith. This post is a mix of my study, and application to what I am currently experiencing, and I have the answer for my particular situation as being "in Christ". It's been a rough time for sure!
