FINDING THE TRUTH: TRUE LOVE

God is love. And God created Heaven and Earth to share in His love. God did not create toys to play with or slaves to boss around. He created creatures who could share in His love as equals, so to speak, in love. He gave us His love so that we could be love.

Because of the blindness that characterizes our separation from God, however, we can see nothing but our own self-indulgent illusions. Left to ourselves, we have nothing but an empty world of social constructions to give us comfort. Left to ourselves, we have nothing but pride, and in that pride we are easily deceived by evil. Left to ourselves, therefore, we are lost in slavery to sin. Therefore, only God Himself can show us what true love is.

Now, if God were to appear to us in His full glory, we would surely drop down before Him in terror. But we wouldn’t necessarily love Him. True love, after all, is an act of self-sacrifice offered in free will, not something engendered by fear.

Psychologically, fear refers to a narcissistic concern about possible damage to our pride and safety. In contrast, fear of God refers to our humble awe before God’s great glory and mercy. Thus, whereas psychological fear pulls us away from God, fear of God leads us directly into the embrace of divine love.

So, in order to teach us true love, God chose to show it to us through the life of a simple, poor man—a life which ended with the most humiliating execution known to humanity.

It was as if God said to all bystanders, those present and those yet to be, “If you can love Him, My Son, this humble, broken man hanging in weakness on that cross out of love for you, you can love anything. If you can love anything, you will know true love. And if you know true love, you will finally begin to know Me.”

After all, what, in all its blindness, does human culture tend to value? Well, look at politics, sports, and entertainment and you will see an insatiable thirst for wealth, glamor, power, competition, and revenge. So is it any wonder that to show us true love, and to bypass all human illusions, God came to us in poverty, simplicity, weakness, and gentleness?

Christ took all of the insults patiently and quietly, without retaliation, all so that we could see the truth of the sin in our hearts—and repent it, in sorrow for the pain we cause to each other.

And that’s why Saint Paul said (1 Corinthians 1:23) that the crucifixion of Christ seemed like folly to the Greeks who valued the “wisdom” of natural philosophy; and to the Jews, who looked for powerful prophetic signs, the crucifixion was a stumbling block.

For neither natural wisdom nor power can illuminate their own darkness.

Baptism into Christ, therefore, calls us to a radical change in our being. In the language of computer technology, it’s like saying that true Christian faith is not just an “application” that we can run on our existing “operating systems”; true faith is a process that creates an entirely new operating system.

WHO DIED ON THE CROSS?

Who died on the cross?

In My Experience, only about 1 in 10 Catholics know the correct answer to this question.

Some of the Answers Given for that Question:
Which is the correct answer?

A1. Jesus Christ died on the cross.
Q1. Yes, but who is Jesus Christ?

A2. The human person of GOD died on the cross.
Q2. Was Jesus Christ a human person?

A3. The human nature of GOD died on the cross.
Q3. Is it the nature of a person that dies?

A4. The Son of GOD died on the Cross.
Q4. Yes, but who is the Son of GOD?

A5. GOD died on the cross.

Q5. You get the gold star.

You are the 1 in 10 who knows the truth.

A1 is technically correct, but there is more to the correct answer.

A2 is wrong because Jesus Christ is not a human person.
Now you may ask, "Well, didn't He have all the characteristics of a human person except for sin?" Almost right, except for one important point. Jesus Christ is a divine person, and if He were a human person, that would make Him 2 persons, each with a nature, one divine, and one human. He is a divine person with a divine and a human nature, one person with 2 natures.

A3 is wrong because persons die on crosses, not natures.

A4 is again technically correct, but we are looking for more here.

A5 is the correct answer because Jesus Christ is a divine person, and persons die on crosses, not natures. While dying in His human nature, Jesus Christ was living in His divine nature. He was both living and dead at the same time, but the person died.
Therefore, GOD died on the Cross.

"But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses." Acts 3:15

"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades." Rev 1:17-18

See also, Acts 1:3, Rom 5:6-10,8:34,14:9,15, 1Cor 8:11,15:3,20,
Phil 2:8, Col 1:18, 1Thes 2:15, Heb 2:9, 1Pet 3:18, Rev 1:5,2:8,5:9,5:12,13:8.

Kudos to all who chose Answer #5...

©

Written 1995 by Bob Stanley

Updated November 17, 2007

SCIENCE AND CHRIST

"LET ME EXPLAIN THE problem science has with Jesus Christ." The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand. "You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"
"Yes, sir."
"So you believe in God?"
"Absolutely."
"Is God good?"
"Sure! God's good."
"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"
"Yes."
"Are you good or evil?"
"The Bible says I'm evil."
The professor grins knowingly. "Ah! THE BIBLE!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help them? Would you try?"
"Yes sir, I would."
"So you're good...!"
"I wouldn't say that."
"Why not say that? You would help a sick and maimed person if you could... in fact most of us would if we could... God doesn't."
No answer.
"He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"
No answer.
The elderly man is sympathetic. "No, you can't, can you?" He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. In philosophy, you have to go easy with the new ones. "Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?"
"Er... Yes."
"Is Satan good?"
"No."
"Where does Satan come from?"
The student falters. "From... God..."
"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he?" The elderly man runs his bony fingers through his thinning hair and turns to the smirking, student audience. "I think we're going to have a lot of fun this semester, ladies and gentlemen." He turns back to the Christian. "Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"
"Yes, sir."
"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? Did God make everything?"
"Yes."
"Who created evil?"
No answer.
"Is there sickness in this world? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All the terrible things - do they exist in this world?"
The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."
"Who created them?"
No answer.
The professor suddenly shouts at his student. "WHO CREATED THEM? TELL ME, PLEASE!" The professor closes in for the kill and climbs into the Christian's face. In a still small voice: "God created all evil, didn't He, son?"
No answer. The student tries to hold the steady, experienced gaze and fails. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace the front of the classroom like an aging panther. The class is mesmerized. "Tell me," he continues, "How is it that this God is good if He created all evil throughout all time?" The professor swishes his arms around to encompass the wickedness of the world. "All the hatred, the brutality, all the pain, all the torture, all the death and ugliness and all the suffering created by this good God is all over the world, isn't it, young man?"
No answer.
"Don't you see it all over the place? Huh?" Pause. "Don't you?" The professor leans into the student's face again and whispers, "Is God good?"
No answer.
"Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?"
The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor. I do."
The old man shakes his head sadly. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen your Jesus?"
"No, sir. I've never seen Him."
"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"
"No, sir. I have not."
"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus...in fact, do you have any sensory perception of your God whatsoever?"
No answer.
"Answer me, please."
"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."
"You're AFRAID... you haven't?"
"No, sir."
"Yet you still believe in him?"
"Yes..."
"That takes FAITH!" The professor smiles sagely at the underling. "According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son? Where is your God now?"
The student doesn't answer.
"Sit down, please." The Christian sits...Defeated.
Another Christian raises his hand. "Professor, may I address the class?"
The professor turns and smiles. "Ah, another Christian in the vanguard! Come, come, young man. Speak some proper wisdom to the gathering."
The Christian looks around the room. "Some interesting points you are making, sir. Now I've got a question for you. Is there such thing as heat?"
"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."
"Is there such a thing as cold?"
"Yes, son, there's cold too."
"No, sir, there isn't."
The professor's grin freezes. The room suddenly goes very cold.
The second Christian continues. "You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold, otherwise we would be able to go colder than the minus 458 degrees - You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just, the absence of it."
Silence. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom. "Is there such a thing as darkness, professor?"
"That's a dumb question, son. What is night if it isn't darkness? What are you getting at...?"
"So you say there is such a thing as darkness?"
"Yes..."
"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, Darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker and give me a jar of it. Can you...give me a jar of darker darkness, professor?"
Despite himself, the professor smiles at the young effrontery before him. This will indeed be a good semester. "Would you mind telling us what your point is, young man?"
"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with and so your conclusion must be in error...."
The professor goes toxic. "Flawed...? How dare you...!"
"Sir, may I explain what I mean?" The class is all ears.
"Explain... oh, explain..." The professor makes an admirable effort to regain control. Suddenly he is affability itself. He waves his hand to silence the class, for the student to continue.
"You are working on the premise of duality," the Christian explains. "That for example there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science cannot even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism but has never seen, much less fully understood them. To view death, as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, merely the absence of it." The young man holds up a newspaper he takes from the desk of a neighbor who has been reading it. "Here is one of the most disgusting tabloids this country hosts, professor. Is there such a thing as immorality?"
"Of course there is, now look..."
"Wrong again, sir. You see, immorality is merely the absence of morality. Is there such thing as injustice? No. Injustice is the absence of justice. Is there such a thing as evil?" The Christian pauses. "Isn't evil the absence of good?"
The professor's face has turned an alarming color. He is so angry he is temporarily speechless. The Christian continues. "If there is evil in the world, professor, and we all agree there is, then God, if he exists, must be accomplishing a work through the agency of evil. What is that work, God is accomplishing? The Bible tells us it is to see if each one of us will, of our own free will, choose good over evil."
The professor bridles. "As a philosophical scientist, I don't view this matter as having anything to do with any choice; as a realist, I absolutely do not recognize the concept of God or any other theological factor as being part of the world equation because God is not observable."
"I would have thought that the absence of God's moral code in this world is probably one of the most observable phenomena going," the Christian replies. "Newspapers make billions of dollars reporting it every week! Tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"
"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."
"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"
The professor makes a sucking sound with his teeth and gives his student a silent, stony stare. "Professor. Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a priest?"
"I'll overlook your impudence in the light of our philosophical discussion. Now, have you quite finished?" the professor hisses.
"So you don't accept God's moral code to do what is righteous?"
"I believe in what is - that's science!"
"Ah! SCIENCE!" the student's face spits into a grin. "Sir, you rightly state that science is the study of observed phenomena. Science too is a premise which is flawed..."
"SCIENCE IS FLAWED?" the professor splutters.
The class is in uproar. The Christian remains standing until the commotion has subsided. "To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, may I give you an example of what I mean?" The professor wisely keeps silent. The Christian looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out in laughter. The Christian points towards his elderly, crumbling tutor. "Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain... felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain?" No one appears to have done so. The Christian shakes his head sadly. "It appears no one here has had any sensory perception of the professor's brain whatsoever. Well, according to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says the professor has no brain."

The class is in chaos. The Christian sits... Because that is what a chair is for.

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

May we walk with Christ each and every day!

NO HOPE BUT GOD

In his book Through the Valley of the Kwai, Scottish officer Ernest Gordon wrote of his years as a prisoner of war during World War II. The 6′ 2″ man suffered from malaria, diphtheria, typhoid, beriberi, dysentery, and jungle ulcers, and the hard labor and scarcity of food quickly plunged his weight to less than 100 pounds.

The squalor of the prison hospital prompted a desperate Ernest to request to be moved to a cleaner place—the morgue. Lying in the dirt of the death house, he waited to die. But every day, a fellow prisoner came to wash his wounds and to encourage him to eat part of his own rations. As the quiet and unassuming Dusty Miller nursed Ernest back to health, he talked with the agnostic Scotsman of his own strong faith in God and showed him that—even in the midst of suffering—there is hope.

The hope we read about in Scripture is not a vague, wishy-washy optimism. Instead, biblical hope is a strong and confident expectation that what God has promised in His Word He will accomplish. Tribulation is often the catalyst that produces perseverance, character, and finally, hope (Rom. 5:3-4).

Seventy years ago, in a brutal POW camp, Ernest Gordon learned this truth himself and said, “Faith thrives when there is no hope but God” (see Rom. 8:24-25).

Faith looks beyond this transient life
With hope for all eternity—
Not with some vague and wistful hope,
But with firm trust and certainty. —D. De Haan

by Cindy Hess Kasper from Our Daily Bread

UNREPENTANT CAIN

Genesis 4

Peace be with you, listening friends. We greet you in the name of God, the Lord of peace, who wants everyone to understand and submit to the way of righteousness that He has established, and have true peace with Him forever. We are happy to be able to return today to present your program The Way of Righteousness.

In our last program we learned about the first two sons of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel. We saw how each of them wanted to worship God and present to Him a sacrifice. Cain took some crops that he had cultivated and offered them to God. But Abel offered God a lamb without blemish and slaughtered it as a sacrifice that covers sin. And the Scripture declares: "The Lord accepted Abel but He did not accept Cain."

Why did God accept Abel but not Cain? Because God's way of righteousness demanded a blood sacrifice. God judged Abel as righteous because he believed the Word of God and brought the offering that God required. As for Cain, he attempted to approach God through his own efforts, which is why God did not accept him.

Today we plan to conclude our study about Cain and Abel. Do you know what happened after God refused Cain's sacrifice? In the book of Genesis, chapter four, verse five, the Scripture says: "So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast." (Gen. 4:5) Why was Cain angry? That is not difficult to understand. To illustrate, if I do something bad and someone says to me, "You have done wrong! Change your ways, and do what is right!" how might I respond to the one who rebuked me? Either I will humbly receive his words and change my ways or I will get angry with him and continue in my error.

God rebuked Cain so that he might realize that the works of his hands, which he had presented as a sacrifice, were worthless before God. God wanted Cain to repent and to bring the sacrifice of a lamb without blemish, as Abel had done. God wanted to lead Cain in the right way, the way of forgiveness. However Cain, in his pride, refused to admit his transgression before God. Instead, he became angry and despondent.

Thus, "the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.'" (Gen. 4:6,7) Why did God question Cain in this way? He questioned him because He did not want Cain to perish. God wanted Cain to repent of his sins, and follow the right way. God was warning Cain about a terrible enemy, which threatened to destroy him and his descendants. That enemy is called Sin!

What is sin? Sin is the problem of the world. It is our worst enemy. Sin is like a snake, full of deadly poison. It is like a little spark that can burn up a great forest. Sin is a torch with which Satan is burning up the world! The Word of God says, "Anyone …who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." (Jam. 4:17) "Sin is lawlessness…. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning." (1 John 3:4,8) Sin is the force that moves in the members of our bodies and fights against what is true and good. Sin is anything that does not agree with the will of God. Sin is refusing to believe and obey the Word of God. To go my own way is sin. (See Isaiah 53:6)

What will be the end of those who go their own way and refuse to believe God and obey Him? The Scriptures say, "They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power." (2 Thes. 1:9) Those who come by the way of salvation that God has decreed will be granted eternal life. But those who harden their hearts against the truth will face God's wrath and judgment. However, the Scriptures say that God does not want "anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance!" (2 Pet. 3:9) God did not want Cain to perish in his sin. What He wanted was for Cain to repent, forsake the way of unrighteousness that he had chosen, and choose the way of righteousness.

As we saw in the last program, the Lord God had revealed a plan by which sinners could be made righteous before Him. Abel believed in God's plan, and slaughtered a spotless lamb as a sacrifice that covers sin. Abel believed what God said, "The [penalty for] sin is death," and "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin!" (Rom. 6:23; Heb. 9:22) Because of the shed blood of the lamb, Abel had a clear conscience before God. Abel knew that he was a guilty sinner deserving God's punishment, but he knew also that he had offered an innocent lamb just as God required. The lamb which Abel sacrificed was an illustration of the Savior who was to come into the world to offer up His life as a sacrifice that would cancel man's debt of sin forever. As for Cain, he pretended to believe God, but his deeds denied it. Cain honored God with his mouth, but his heart was far from Him. The blood of a lamb is what God demanded, but Cain offered Him the works of his hands. Cain's worship was absolutely worthless before God, because he did not accept God's way.

Let us now read the next verse to see what Cain did after God rebuked him for his worthless sacrifice. The Scripture says, "Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.' And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him." (Gen. 4:8) What did Cain do? Did he repent? Did he believe God and bring to Him the blood of a lamb as a sacrifice for sin? No! Cain added sin to sin by attacking his brother Abel and killing him.

Incredible! Cain, who refused to shed the blood of a lamb so that God could forgive him his sins, now shed the blood of his righteous brother! What do you think about this? Who placed within the mind of Cain the idea to kill his brother? To whom was Cain listening? Cain was listening to Satan. The Scriptures say that he killed his brother because Cain "belonged to the evil one." (1 John 3:12). We have already seen how God announced that there would be two lines (groups) of people in the world, the people of God and the people of Satan. Abel belonged to God because he believed the Word of God enough to obey it. Cain belonged to Satan because he did not believe the Word of God.

Let us now listen to what God said to Cain after he killed his younger brother.


"Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' 'I don't know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's keeper?' The Lord said, 'What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.'" (Gen. 4:9-12)


Thus, God punished Cain, saying, "When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you." Wolof wisdom says, "The cow kicks its calf but does not hate it." Similarly, God did not punish Cain to condemn him, but to lead him to repent of his sin, believe the truth, and be saved. Yet what did Cain do? Did he repent? No, he did not. The Scriptures say, "So Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod." (Gen. 4:16) Cain, who ignored the word of God, turned his back on God, shutting Him out of his life. It was not God who distanced Himself from Cain, but Cain who distanced himself from God.

Today, most of Adam's descendants resemble Cain, continuing in their own way and closing their hearts to God's voice. With their lips they say, "God is great!" but in their hearts they think, "God is far away! No one can know Him!" However, the Word of God shows us that God is not far from any one of us, because He is the One who gives to everyone life and breath and everything else. He is closer to us than our own heartbeat. God knows you personally, and wants you to know Him personally too! (See Acts 17:24-31; Romans 10:1-13)

Why is it then that most people do not come to know God (personally)? The Word of God answers this question. God says, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."(John 3:19,20)

People do not know God, because like Cain, they have turned their backs on His Word. God's prophet David wrote: "[God's] word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (Psa. 119:105) If you turn your back on the light of the Word of God, you will remain in the darkness of sin and you will never come to know God. God will seem far from you. Yet, God wants you to know that He is not far away. He is behind you. He is at your side. He is right in front of you. God loves you and wants to have a close relationship with you. But you must not be like Cain, who hardened his heart and refused to accept God's way of righteousness. God wanted Cain to repent. To this very day, God is commanding every person to repent, turn to Him, and believe His Word.

Do you know what it means to repent? It means to change your thoughts and your actions. To repent is to confess before God, "I have been wrong in my thinking concerning the way of salvation that you have established!" To repent is to agree with God that you have no possible way of saving yourself from His righteous judgment, and then to turn to Him and submit to His way of salvation.

A person who truly repents is like a traveler who wants to take the train from Thies {Senegal's 2nd largest city} to Dakar {the Capital}. He buys a ticket and climbs aboard. Later, as he is traveling along, he discovers that he is on the train going to Bamako {in Mali, the opposite direction}! What must he do if he is ever to get to Dakar? He must "repent"--that is, he must admit that he is heading in the wrong direction, get off the train at the next stop, and get on the train that goes to Dakar. Thus, we see that genuine repentance has two sides: rejecting the wrong and accepting the right. True repentance involves two actions. First, you must turn from yourself, your sins, your idols and your self-efforts to gain God's favor. Then you must turn to God and His Word which tells you how to be saved. That is true repentance.

As for Cain, he never repented. Cain chose to continue in his own way. He refused to submit to the way of salvation established by God. That is why the Scriptures say: "Cain perished on the way of unrighteousness, which caused God to reserve for him the blackest darkness forever!" (Jude 11, 13)

Oh dear friends, may we not be like Cain! Let us pay attention to the solemn warning from God which says, "Unless you repent, you too will all perish!" (Luke 13:3) God's judgment is sure and will fall upon all those who have never been cleansed from their sins.

Let there be no mistake about this: you will never become righteous before God based on your own good works. Like Cain, many people believe that they will escape God's judgment by attempting to follow the rules and regulations of their religion. But being religious does not make one righteous. God's Word says:

"No one will be declared righteous in [God's] sight by observing the law…. All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…. For it is by grace you [are] saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast!" (Rom. 3:20; Isa. 64:6; Eph. 2:8,9)


Thank you for listening. God willing, in the next program, we will study about some of Adam's descendants, including the Prophet of God, Enoch….

God bless you as you thoughtfully consider what you have heard today. The Scriptures say:


"God is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance…. [But if you do not] repent, you will perish!" (1 Pet. 3:9; Luke 13:3)

CONFIDENCE IN GOD

I order, I command, I beg, I insist, I entreat you to lay aside all fear of God. It is ridiculous. You do not understand what God is like. He is the most sympathetic of friends, always biased in our favour, always most indulgent, most generous...

What fear have you of the Judgement? Would you like to be judged by me at the Gates of Heaven? Would you feel confident that I should be lenient? Of course you would! Very well then! God will be more lenient still, because he is better than I am, and loves you, as is His right, in a still more fatherly way. This is absolutely true and you must change your ideas about this completely.

You must feel nothing but confidence in the infinite mercy of God. - Abbe de Tourville

From Living Water: An Anthology of Letters of Direction by Robin Baird-Smith [David Lovell Publishing 2003

THE FAMILY OF GOD

The Communion of Saints

The Church is a family. The Church Militant (on earth), Church Suffering (in Purgatory), and Church Triumphant (in Heaven) are not three divisions of the Catholic Church, but are united in one family in the Communion of Saints. The Communion of Saints is a communion of the living, not of the dead. The Communion of Saints is the Church, CCC 946. The Church, then, is 'The Holy People of GOD', and her members are called 'saints', CCC 823.
(CCC is the Catechism of the Catholic Church)

The Family of GOD was built up by GOD through the covenants He made with man.

The first covenant GOD made with man is the one with Adam. This can be seen as the marital covenant, the first step of a family organization.

The second covenant was made with Noah, and this can be seen as the household covenant, since Noah and his family were the only ones who were saved in the ark.

Next came the covenant with Abraham, or the tribal covenant. Abraham became the patriarch of many families united into one 'tribe'.

Then came the covenant with Moses where the various tribes were united into a national covenant.

After that came the Davidic covenant of the kingdom where there was formed a national kingdom.

Lastly, the new covenant of Jesus Christ, was instituted, where all men are united into one body, the body of Christ in an international world wide family of GOD, the Holy Roman Catholic Church.

"I am the GOD of Abraham, and the GOD of Isaac, and the GOD of Jacob.
I am not the GOD of the dead but of the living." (Matthew 22:32, Mark 12:26-27)

"And behold, two men were talking with Him. And these were Moses and Elias, who, appearing in glory, spoke of His death, which He was about to fulfill in Jerusalem." (Luke 9:30-31).

Not only were these two Saints alive, but they spoke, and they even spoke to Him about future happenings.

"And I tell you that many will come from the east and from the west, and will feast with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven."
(Matthew 8:11)

Does it sound like these three heros of the Old Testament are not alive?

"And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose; and coming forth out of the tombs after His resurrection, they came into the city and appeared to many." (Matthew 27:52-53).

Many who died, and now are alive, moved themselves and appeared to others.

"In which also He went and preached to those spirits that were in prison."(1Peter 3:19).

They were spirits, yet they lived, and He preached to them.

" And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints; and they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth."
(Revelation 5:8-10)

"And with the prayers of the saints there went up before GOD from the angels hand the smoke of the incense." (Revelation 8:4).

Clearly, the saints in heaven live.

Note that the word "pray" has two meanings:
1. To utter or address a prayer or prayers to GOD...
2. To make a fervent request or an entreaty...

When it is said that Catholics "pray" to the Saints, it is the second meaning.

"And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you..."" (Luke 1:35).

Here is an example of a heavenly being, archangel Gabriel, speaking to a human being.

"For you are all children of GOD through faith in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26).

"...but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons, by virtue of which we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself gives testimony to our spirit that we are sons of GOD." (Romans 8:15-16).

"He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ as His sons, according to the purpose of His will." (Ephesians 1:5).

"But to as many as received Him He gave the power of becoming sons of GOD; to those who believe in His name." (John 1:12).

"For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, many as they are, form one body (family), so also is it with Christ." (1 Corinthians 12:12).

"Therefore, you are now no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are citizens with the Saints and members of GOD's household: you are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief corner stone. In Him the whole structure is closely fitted together and grows into a temple holy in the Lord; in Him you too are being
built together into a dwelling place for GOD in the Spirit." (Ephesians 2:19-22).

"For in one Spirit we were all Baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free; and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many." (1 Corinthians 12:13-14).

"So we, the many, are one body in Christ, but severally members one of another." (Romans 12:5).

"That there may be no disunion in the body, but that the members may have care for one another. And if one member suffers anything, all members suffer with it, or of one member glories, all the members rejoice with it."
(1 Corinthians 12:25-26).

"...there will be joy among the angels of GOD over one sinner who repents."
(Luke 15:10).

"Rather are we to practice the truth in love, and to grow up in all things in Him who is the head, Christ." (Ephesians 4:15).

Christ is the head of the body, the family.

"For from the whole body (being closely joined and knit together through every joint of the system according to the functioning in due measure of each single part) derives its increase to the building up of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:16).

"Therefore, you are now no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are citizens with the saints and members of GOD's household; you are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole structure is closely fitted together and grows into a temple holy in the Lord; in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for GOD in the Spirit." (Ephesians 3:19-22).

We are citizens in the family of GOD.

"Now you are the body of Christ, member for member." (1 Corinthians 3:27).

"Be you yourselves as living stones, built thereon into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to GOD through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:5).

"And GOD indeed has placed some in the Church, first Apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers; after that miracles, then gifts of healing, services of help, power of administration, and the speaking of various tongues. Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have the gift of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?" (1 Corinthians 12:28-30).

Family members have different skills.

"And He Himself gave some men as Apostles, and some as prophets, others again as evangelists, and others as pastors and teachers, in order to perfect the saints for a work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-12).

"Now the multitude of the believers were of one heart and one soul, and not one of them said that anything he possessed was his own, but they all had things in common." (Acts 4:32).

"...one body and one Spirit, even as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one Baptism; one GOD and Father of all, who is above all, and throughout all, and in us all." (Ephesians 4:4-6, CCC 946-962).

Written by Bob Stanley, September 18, 1998
Updated June 11, 2001

The section regarding covenants is from a talk by Dr. Scott Hahn.