Tag: BibleProject.com

Present your bodies – (plural) – a… (one) living sacrifice

The Bible Project has been doing a great job of showing us how to read the Hebrew Scriptures by exposing the methods and means of their style and composition. The Original Testament often sets up a conflict in the story that it answers later. This is how Romans 12 is to some extent. We can read Romans 12:1 about presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice and think it is something we are doing or being by our religious adherence. However, the answer comes later in Romans 12:5. If we would just take that verse to heart, then we would not have this self-centric – I mean Christian-centric view at all.

CJB so there are many of us, and in union with the Messiah we comprise one body, with each of us belonging to the others.

AMP so we, who are many, are [nevertheless just] one body in Christ, and individually [we are] parts one of another [mutually dependent on each other].

ERV  In the same way, we are many people, but in Christ we are all one body. We are the parts of that body, and each part belongs to all the others.

The ERV does a great job of translating the first word of 12:5, so that we realize it is referring to “present your bodies a living sacrifice.” Living Sacrifice is singular and it is Jesus, especially Who He is. I often refer to this as His heart trajectory. I think Paul would call it the mind of Christ. I know the prophet Isaiah referred to it as the Higher Way and Higher Thought of God in Isaiah 55:8-11.

Jesus – Who He is – makes us a living sacrifice, because He is the Slain Lamb standing in Revelation 5:6. He is the lamb slain before the foundation of the earth. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His heart trajectory in us, is the Living Sacrifice we all experience together when we lose our soul-lives to know Him (Matthew 10:39). As Romans says just before 12:1, all things are out from Him, through Him, and unto Him.  Let’s not waste any time conforming to the world as 12:2 says, but rather be in it, but not of it… be of His heart trajectory that ended our oppressively special identities and self-care importance.

Only His dying process, “nekrosis,” active in us means life manifest in our body to others (2 Corinthians 4:10). Him being Who He is, is how He forgave us and saved us on the cross. Him being Who He is, is also How He sanctifies us, makes us holy and set apart. As 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, he is our sanctification-holiness. It is not a thing we get, but Him being it.

As He is-being, so also are we in this world! 1 John 4:17 Only Jesus’ Heart Trajectory, His Way of Being… only Him this way is Life and Reality.

…LORD God walking in the garden in the ? cool ? of the day…

It is translations like this that cause me worry. They are missed opportunities for expressing the power and awesomeness of the LORD God. Let me suggest an alternate translation and explanation for Genesis 3:8 that is more literal, straight forward, and explains how Jesus sanctifies us. My primary target is this word, “cool.”

You are reading this on the web, so open this verse on Biblehub’s interlinear in another window at this link: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/genesis/3-8.htm You will need to read it backwards from English, right to left, in fact. Make sure you become familiar with how the interlinear functions. The top number is called a Strong’s number. It is for those of us who do not read Hebrew and would like some definitions of the word. Biblehub ups that to include all the instances where the word occurs. Biblehub offers 2, 3, and sometimes 4 different sources for a definition.

The line below the number is also something you can click on. It is how you pronounce the word using the English alphabet, but the link is also a search that includes the various conjugations and spellings according to its placement in Hebrew grammar. The line below that is in Hebrew script as it has been since the Babylonian Exile, then below that is an English translation, and then below that is the parsing tag to tell you what part of the Hebrew language the word belongs to.

I want you to take note of the word with the Strong’s number of 7307 and translated as “in the breeze.” Click on that and it will say “7307. ruach” with various definitions. Notice that the three definitions are essentially say “breath, wind, spirit.” Ruach is all of these together. When we talk about God’s Spirit, we are also talking about God’s Breath and God’s Windy Breeze. Bible Project has a great video and podcast on this at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNNZO9i1Gjc or https://bibleproject.com/podcast/holy-spirit-part-2/ . The ideas are all conflated in Hebrew as they are in Greek. Spirit is wind and breath, because it is an invisible animating reality. A wind rustles the tree leaves and a person is alive because they breath. So is it with God’s spirit.

Also, towards the end of the verse, click on the word number 8432 that is translated as “among.” Keep it in mind. It means “midst.”

Now let’s apply this idea to Genesis 3:8. Cool of the day is a horrible translation. Breeze of the day is a little better, but they still all miss reality of the story. Why not go for the jugular and translate it as spirit, or even spirit-wind? Below is an amalgamation translation from all the popular translations, except that for the words “spirit-wind” and “in the midst of;” those are mine.

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the spirit-wind of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God in the midst of the trees of the garden.

I don’t know about you, but chills just went down my spine! If that didn’t happen for you read it again and more slowly. God walks by the spirit-wind of the day means that he breezes through all the trees of the garden equally and unchanged! Just like wind blows through a forest, God’s spirit blows through all trees, and God is still Who He is. But Adam and Eve on the other hand, having just ate from the one tree they were forbidden to touch are now entrapped in its matrix. This ontological entanglement expresses itself as abhorrence and fear of God’s spirit just being Himself. (Ontological means how a thing is being and existing.)

The serpent was not lying when he said Adam and Eve would be like God Who already knows good and bad-evil. What he did not tell them was that this knowledge hopelessly entraps all finite beings in its matrix like an inescapable vortex or blackhole. Once ingested it is a severance from Life. Sure, Adam and Eve did not drop dead physically in that moment. Rather, like a branch sawn off a tree, they were dead.

Functionally it is by trajectory of being. That may sound odd to you until you ponder how a seed brings about life increase by first dying. Perhaps the words of Jesus may sound familiar to you? Lose your life, carry your cross? Or how about Jesus talking about Himself as a seed needing to go into the ground in John 12:24? God’s spirit goes His Way. He goes through all the trees equally, even the tree where the serpent is still entrapped and was forbidden to us.

Adam and Eve had just eaten of the tree and now with their inverted trajectory of being to that of God’s, there is a “friction of being.” Adam and Eve want to self-preserve now. But God, Who makes the seed go its cycle, wants give all selflessly, completely, and with no hold back like a seed falling into the ground. And since He is Infinite, the tree forbidden to us is just another tree to Him. With any tree, even the forbidden one, He gives Himself away through it like all the rest. His Spirt breezes through all the trees and He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.

The cross had this reality on display. Jesus came in the fullness of God’s Spirit. Jesus was hung on a tree. Maybe you are saying, “No, Jesus was hung on a cross.” Well, my answer to you is that it depends on which language you speak. In Hebrew, and Greek by the way, a tree is any wooden construct that includes Roman crosses, wood clubs, scaffolding, and trees. Jesus died a death like no other that the veteran Roman centurion who had seen hundreds, if not thousands, die by crucifixion, realized he had never seen anyone die like Jesus. Seeing the whole process, He explained, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

How did Jesus die? Well, not like any other man, ever! He never lashed back or claimed innocence. His inner reality remained selfless in giving just like a seed falling into the ground. He forgave those killing Him. He loved his enemies. And he asked for his mother to be cared for. Never once, even remotely did anything within His heart stir up against any person for this grossly unfair death drummed up on false charges. He remained in union with His Father, breezing through that tree unchanged in Who He is: Greater Love.

Moreover, this is not only how Jesus saved us, but also how He sanctifies us. He is always Who He is. And because He became a human, He made it so that humans can learn His heart and share His Spirit that breezes through all the trees of the garden alike. I hope you have heard what I wrote. Jesus has not only forgiven you from sin, but He also has given you a highway out from the forbidden tree, so that you can too can walk through the garden where He is in any tree, situation, or circumstance.

Sanctification is not trying harder next time, or exerting fleshly force to mortify the evil within. Rather, it is as simple as knowing Him where He governs, which can sound like a poster slogan until you realize one of the huge tools He has given us to make this a reality. I am referring to The Jesus Pictures. Because the same Spirit breezing through all the trees can breeze through history and people and events the same too. The Hebrew Bible is this record. You can learn His Spirit by beholding that trajectory of being for yourself. 2 Corinthians 3:18 is the goal in that success story. Galatians 3:1 is the failure when you stop.

To discover more, read The Jesus Pictures, Spiritual Knowledge, 24:27, and Life Portals.

Seeing Jesus as in a mirror

Abraham, your father, rejoiced in that he would see My Day! He even saw it and was very thankful to have that grace favored upon him. John 8:56 XLP

Jesus says that Abraham saw His Day and was thankful for the favor and grace of that, which is what the Greek literally means here. Abraham was favored by grace; hence he was very thankful with observable joy. None of the typical translations really capture what was obvious in Greek, because readable translations only need to be good enough. Too literal can make them unreadable.

When did Abraham see Jesus in His Day? Genesis 22 is the answer. God tells Abraham to take Isaac to the future site of where the temple will be in Jerusalem and sacrifice him there. Now, if you have read any of the Jesus Pictures in Spiritual Knowledge, or 24:27, and so on, you already know that this episode in the Scriptures addresses the question of how God intends to bless the nations. How does the promised seed life in Isaac go out to bless the nations? The answer is that a father must sacrifice his only son, who quietly and willingly lays down his life in obedience to his father. Isaac even carries his own wood up the hill.

Moreover, the Jesus Pictures have noted that the ram caught in the thicket is essentially wearing a crown of thorns. The ram is in his full power and glory of strength. The ram’s horns are caught in a thicket, an entanglement of brush, which alludes back to the ground producing thorns and thistles in Genesis 3. God provided the substitute. God literally “saw to it,” which is what “provided” means in Hebrew. Thus, God provides Himself a lamb, which is so stated in Genesis 22 and can mean exactly what you are thinking: God provides Himself in the person of Jesus as the Lamb of God.

Genesis 22:3 says that on the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place afar off. In the story, it is literal. According to how we read the text (pro-graphe) by Galatians 3 and 4, it means that Abraham is seeing the future reality of God’s plan. The Spirit of Christ is within the prophets as Peter reminds us. Thus, all the Hebrew Scriptures are pointing to Jesus as rule number 1. No need to guess.

Yet this obvious reality is very beclouded today among Christians. It is as if we have been the objects of a sneak attack designed to allow anything except the seeing of Jesus “as He is” in the Hebrew Scriptures. Most of us understand that Genesis 22 points to Jesus in sort of a type and shadow reality, but I do not think we see how the Hebrew Scriptures came into existence out from Jesus showing Himself in some eternally true fashion through the very people who are designed to image and bear His likeness.

Capturing a glimpse of His eternal glory is inwardly transformative. This is Paul’s point at the end of 2 Corinthians 3. Yet, he is aware that the enemy fights to derail this seeing of Jesus in the Hebrew Scriptures. Thus, chapter 4 mentions how the “god of this world” blinds folks. Blinds us to what? The devil blinds people to the true nature of The Treasure within this jar of clay. It is carrying the nekrosis-death of Jesus in our body, which is His life manifested through the thorny flesh of people. Only Jesus knows how to be powerful through the thorns of the curse.

I think 2 Corinthians 3:18 came out from seeing Jesus in the Hebrew Scriptures through many stories, but especially Genesis 22. Not only did Abraham see afar off in the sense of space and time, but he did see Jesus “as in a mirror.” I encourage you to read Genesis 22:10-13 in multiple translations. For a father to be in a state of mind to sacrifice the divine-given son of his old age, he must have overridden every self-preservation instinct possible. It is clear in earlier stories that we know how much he loved his sons, but obedience to God was more important.

So, in those few seconds that transpired between Genesis 22:10-13, Abraham’s hand was frozen before him, outstretched with the knife ready to execute his beloved son. Psychologically, you just do not instantly shift gears from overriding every self-preservation instinct in your mind. It takes a few moments to come out of the strange trance.

And so, we read in Genesis 22:13 that Abraham looked up and saw what?  Now this is where the unbelief of good people translating the Bible comes into play. Most popular translations ignore one of the Hebrew words in the text. The word is “behind.” To them, it clearly makes no sense how Abraham looked up and then saw the substitute ram behind him. Nor, are they thinking about Jesus as the reality of the Hebrew Bible stories. Nor are they connecting this knife suspended between heaven and earth with the sword of the angle suspended between heaven earth at the same place in 1 Chronicles 21:16, “And David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, and in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem.” The language is even similar, which is evidence of narrative design. Yet, so many do not see.

The Hebrew Scriptures function in this manner of making links and connections through repeated phrases and pictures. (Thank you BibleProject.com for making this better known.) For if we would simply just believe Peter or Jesus in Luke 24:26-27, we would be in a better situation. Seeing Jesus “as He is” always is the best scenario for life in dead places.

Not only would we link the stayed knife of Genesis 22 to the sword of 1 Chronicles 21:16, we would also start paying attention to any other story that elevates things between heaven and earth. Ezekiel 28 reminds us that Eden was a mountain place, which in the ancient mind are places overlapping heaven and earth. Noah’s ark was buoyantly suspended between heaven and earth covered in a ransom price (pitch). God torah-ed / showed Moses a tree at the bitter waters of Marah, a tree that changed bitter waters into sweet waters. Moses was the deliverer at a full rest in Exodus 17 with two men to either side set up on a hill; as long as he remained there at rest with hands of faith, Joshua-Jesus had the victory. Absalom was suspended between heaven and earth where he was pierced three times. Daniel was suspended between heaven and earth in that window when they finally caught him where they wanted him in order to kill him. Haman was suspended between heaven and earth on that tree, which is sadly paraphrased away as gallows. In fact, the tool of execution meant for Mordecai, actually ended up killing Haman.

That such realities of seeing Jesus in His victory – at rest on a tool of execution suspended between heaven and earth – are not widely seen or proclaimed today is to our shame. We might have 1 Corinthians 1:25 memorized, but the average Christians today does not personally know the reality of God’s weakness being the undoing of human strength. We are more interested in getting along with the world and resisting when it does not suit our patriotic pride, which was the downfall of Israel and Judah.

Abraham saw Jesus “as He is” simply by looking up and beholding as in a mirror the reflection off the knife in his outstretched hand. Yes, Abraham saw the ram caught in the thicket behind him reflected on the tool of execution suspended between heaven and earth. Abraham saw Jesus’s Day of reigning gloriously and rejoiced in such thankfulness that God had indeed given him back his son as if he were raised from the dead!

The ram was in its full glory of strength, and so was Jesus on the cross. Jesus was reigning in such magnificent glory that even the heavens dimmed in comparison. It is up to the average Christian to ferret out what was His glory. We can only do that by simply spending time with God and talking to Him about it. If our hearts truly turn to see Him, then the Spirit of God has amazing wonders to show you.