Blog Archives

2. The Weakness of Christ the Man

By John Thiel, The Power of the Cross Conference, Study 2, mp3

The power of God can actually operate through Jesus Christ. You cannot appreciate the power of God unless you realise your weakness and your smallness. In our weakness and depravity which is the law of sin in my members, the moment that we want to do what is right because our mind has been affected by the purity of God and His truth and His law, we immediately discover there is a law in our members that fights against the law and the expectations of God.

According to the words of Apostle Paul, he says there is a law in my members that works contrary to the law of my mind. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death, from this power? We read that there is a way by which we can actually conquer the weakness of our sinful flesh.

The body is the only medium through which the mind and the soul are developed for the upbuilding of character. Hence it is that the adversary of souls directs his temptations to the enfeebling and degrading of the physical powers. His success here means the surrender to evil of the whole being. The tendencies of our physical nature, unless under the dominion of a higher power, will surely work ruin and death. {MH 130.1}

Read the rest of this entry

Is the Nature of Christ Doctrine Important? Part 2

This is an excerpt of a previously published sermon. Did Jesus come right down into the pit with us? Some say He only reached down with His hand. This doctrine is under attack today by some ministries. How important is it? Can we be saved without understanding it?

Jesus Came into the Pit with us

In 1888 there was need of a revival. Do we need that now? Right here we need it and it must be rekindled right now. Do you need to know when you have fallen again and again? You see yourself in a true condition of depraved lukewarmness and you try to do it and you can’t recover yourself from it. What do you need to see? Especially when Satan whispers; See, how many times you’ve tried? See how absolutely hopeless you are? You’ve tried countless times and you’ve fallen flat on your face again. Your case is hopeless. He whispers that. Because the voice of Satan whispers that and the Lord shows me my sins, we confuse the voice of Satan with the voice of God.

We think God is an enemy, Jacobs’s trouble. We need to see Jesus when we are down there. Where do you see Jesus? Up there or where I am in the pit? If you see Jesus up there, you will say I’m never going to make it. He will try to reach his hand to you and you won’t be able to take hold of it. You need to see your totally depraved condition. This was the message of 1888. God doesn’t just start talking, He says listen to me.

Read the rest of this entry

Is the Nature of Christ Doctrine Important? Part 1

Audio: mp3

This an extract of a sermon preached in 2010 called The Rock. Many people do not feel the detail of the doctrine on the nature of Christ is vitally important but here is a short excerpt that says we are to respect Jesus at one with us as much as his holiness. I hope you will enjoy this sermon as much as I have.

Jesus the Rock  

Is He at one with the overwhelmed? He is. As He is at one with the overwhelmed, take it in, believe it. He was on Golgothas hill crying my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He died of a broken heart, but He says:

Read the rest of this entry

Divine and Human Sonship

By John Thiel. Beholding Christ Series, Part 4, mp3

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [Him], that we may be also glorified together.

It’s good to keep our eyes focused on Jesus beholding Him. We want to do this that we might be changed to the same image. From glory to glory, what does it mean; from character to character. There are many facets of glory of the character of Jesus and the one we want to consider is the character of the Sonship of Jesus Christ, the divine and human Sonship a twofold Sonship. Perfect Sonship finds its bench mark, its genetics in the fifth commandment. Here are the genetics of true Sonship: Read the rest of this entry

Unto Us a Child is Born

By John Thiel, Beholding Christ Series, Part 8, mp3

By beholding Jesus it is written that as we look at Him, we become conscious of our short falls and sinfulness. Sometimes looking at the example of Jesus can have a negative influence on some people. They feel so unworthy and think they’ll never make it. We want to focus on something else about Jesus, the life giving ingredient found in His humiliation.

Philippians 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus demonstrates a power upon the sinner that the sinner would be affectionately drawn to God. Jesus addressed this very point in John 12. What does it do when we lift Him up? Read the rest of this entry

For What the Law Could Not Do

When the divine Word became at one with humanity, what was the nature of His flesh?

Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

“Through sin the whole human organism is deranged…Sin has degraded the faculties of the soul” -Testimonies for the Churches Vol. 8, p. 312

“What a strange symbol of Christ was that likeness of the serpents which stung them. This symbol was lifted on a pole, and they were to look to it, and be healed. So Jesus was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. He came as the sin-bearer. . . .” –Sons and Daughters p. 222

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. Read the rest of this entry

Emmanuel God With Us

Introduction

The above titles are well known by us and it has been the work of God’s ministers to enlighten the people in regard to the practical reality of these. It is the purpose of this study to gaze into the depths of the intended meaning of the given titles. To be saved from sins involves an intelligent interrelationship of sinful humanity with Divinity which of necessity must include a conscious process of detection, overcoming and eradication of sin. Read the rest of this entry

The True Witness Testifies

By John Thiel

We all acknowledge that JESUS is the head of His visible church. As we live at a time of unprecedented confusion of church organizations who claim to be God’s visible church; does it do us well if we really enter the arena of contestants with that claim? How does the Head of the church teach us to think?

If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.” John 5:31, 32. Read the rest of this entry

Divine Assurance

By John Thiel, mp3

How much do you sense your need of Jesus?

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

This Scripture illuminates the need of Jesus. Jesus brings to us a wonderful privilege and peace. Peace of what kind? Not as the world giveth. Not the kind of peace that we gain from the lack of happiness that the world can produce but a peace that only God can produce. The peace that Jesus speaks of here is a peace he gives unto you. It’s a peace that is at rest when everything around us is in tumult. I don’t know if you have heard the story of the competition between three artists and the different impressions that these artists had of what really is peace. One artist painted a picture of a family sitting together. The second artist painted a beautiful scene in nature and the third artist painted a very storm-tossed ocean. There in the ocean were rocks and crevices and the waves were beating up against these rocks with great crashing and there in the side of that rock, that huge rock, was a little cave and inside of that cave was a dove with her little ones sitting in the nest. He won the competition because that was a true representation of the peace that only Jesus can bring, a peace amongst troubles and conflicts that surround us. Read the rest of this entry

%d bloggers like this: