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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, May 23, 1980
Page 2
Jesus referred to the "beginning''--as God instructed Adam and Eve.
Moses had made a LIBERAL deviation to hardhearted, rebellious people who
had no salvation. Jesus proceeded to give His future Apostles God's
TRUTH as it was "from the beginning." It's time for us to get back TO
THE BEGINNING--to understand God's PURPOSE in making humanity male and
female--in establishing the MARRIAGE and FAMILY relationship.
The Bible is like a jigsaw puzzle. It is made up of many pieces.
They FIT TOGETHER to make a CLEAR PICTURE of God's revelation of TRUTH
to man. Take one piece of a jigsaw puzzle by itself and you have no
picture. Put it improperly together with other wrong pieces and you have
confusion.
The Bible is like a TREE. A tree has roots, a trunk, major branches,
smaller branches and, off of still smaller branches, twigs. These liber
als, led by
SATAN,
took
one
twig, went to great lengths about that twig
to water down Cod's truth, and cc1me up with "official doctrine." But it
was not GOD'S official doctrine. And they had no AUTHORITY over doctrine.
Jesus was talking about how God made it "at the beginning"--before
Moses--from the first man and woman.
The earth had been populated by ANGELS who had SINNED. God then
proposed to make MAN in HIS OWN IMAGE� God was reproducing Himself. God
was starting, through man, the ultimate GOD FAMILY. God Himself shall
become a FAMILY. Satan hates the FAMILY structure.
God used Old Testament Israel as a type of that FAMILY. Christ was
married to Israel. Israel committed adultery. THAT DID NOT LEAD CHRIST
to be free to MARRY ANOTHER NATION.
Christ had married a NATION. He
never married another. He said, 'Return to me, 0 Israel. Only confess
and repent of your sins.
1
But Old Testament Israel did not repent or
return.
So Christ came to earth in person and died for Israel's sins that
they could be forgiven. The CHURCH is ISRAEL having repented and re
ceived the Holy Spirit, begotten as SONS OF GOD. "He is a Jew who is
one inwardly" (Rom. 2:29). Christ has not yet married the CHURCH--which
is spiritual ISRAEL.
The Church is the affianced BRIDE of Christ. All in the Church do
stumble and sin to some degree at times.
(See I John 1.) But if we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
cleanse us. But Christ does not divorce His Church and become the
affianced bridegroom of ANOTHER church--such as the great false church.
There is no divorce and remarriage. If we, the Bride, sin, we are
either cast away if we REFUSE to confess and repent, or, on repentance,
we are forgiven.
Now to Matthew 19. Granted, the Greek porneia has more than one
meaning. So does the English word, "saw." It may mean "did see," or
it may mean an instrument with jagged teeth for cutting through wood.
We determine by its use in the sentence IN THE CONTEXT OF THAT SENTENCE,
which meaning of the word applies.