Sunday, April 12, 2020

The Work of God or the Work of Humans?



As the years go by and more and more people get disgusted with the corporate Churches of God corrupt leadership, and more and more blogs and web sites seek to be a unifying presence online, regardless of the corporate church one is tied to or may be attending.

The Work of God (The Work)
The corporate church of god organizations claim to be doing the work of God (or the work). Every time there is a request for financial support (tithes, offerings, special funds, etc.), their claims to be doing the work of God (the work) are front and center.
This work of God (the work) is, according to the church of God organizations, preaching the gospel, which costs money (Google ads with the keyword “God” do cost a lot, for instance) and includes brick and mortar overhead (about 80% of finances goes to salaries, expense reimbursements, housing/utility/etc. allowances, and insurance coverage, as well as maintaining, buying, and building new brick and mortar land and buildings).
There are many problems with this particular phrase, but the first is the phrase itself in light of scripture.
It’s incredible hubris, before we even look at scripture, to claim to be doing God’s work. As if God can’t do His own work (once again, the idea of God and His power, as well as Jesus Christ, being limited), and we, mere mortals in temporary, perishing tents, must help Him.
It’s an insult to Almighty God. To add insult to injury, most of what the church of God groups claim is the work of God (the work) is really the work of humans and has very little to do with God.
Now to scripture and what God says His work – that He and Jesus Christ are doing – is. The work of God – through His word, His spirit, and Jesus Christ – and this should always be at the front of our minds, because in the end, when we stand before Jesus Christ, it’s this work only and how much we willingly cooperated with, participated in, yielded, surrendered, and submitted to, and obeyed that will matter for eternity – is what is happening on the inside of each of us that God has called and chosen.
The work of God is the renewing of our minds, the changing of our hearts and spirits, and the development of God’s holy, righteous character. No human can do that. I can’t and you can’t. But God and Jesus Christ can and will. From Churches of God Lexicon Concretized Christianity

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am glad to see this statement. It is a point of departure for an extensive review of HWA's religious philosophy. To be brief, I will take one point and treat it lightly. HWA at one time regarded God's work with humanity to be of great importance. He taught a very robust form of Theosis. In fact, he went overboard with this and had human beings becoming god as god is god. He founded the Human Potential magazine that focused on human achievement and the magnificence of humanity. Then this focus on God's work in humanity was crowded out by concerns about The Other Work - spreading the Armstrongist rendition of the gospel. In a way, in all the arm waving about Christ's Kingdom coming and predictive prophecy and British-Israelism, HWA lost the vision of God's work in humanity. In so doing, he was announcing the Kingdom of God but lost what the Kingdom of God was about. Along with this change came an attitude of deprecation towards the lay membership.

I remember Joseph Tkach, Sr. subtly restoring this direction in the pages of the Worldwide News editorial column years ago. I don't think many recognized it at all as a change in priority for HWA's focus on media, funding and pursuing world leaders. Tkach gave that a secondary role with God's work in humanity at the top. I mentioned this to a WCG minister at the time and he seemed totally surprised by it though he had read the editorial. And this guy was pretty sharp. I am not sure why the change did not register. I never heard it mentioned by lay members or from the pulpit. I do not remember the date of the WWN issue. But it was revolutionary.

nck said...

Do you mean when Tkach announced that HWA had asked him "to prepare the bride", "as the gospel had been preached to the world(leaders) so the luxury jet was to be replaced with a modest one able to carry a larger party of ministers to the church?

Nck

Anonymous said...

And what was HWAs gospel? That "government is everything," meaning that those in power have all the rights, with the little people having none. Err, it's the wrong social system. Herbs system has been tried through out human history, and as the saying goes, "name one successful society that was based on it. Just one." But the lust of power blinds men to the obvious.

Anonymous said...

Concretized Christianity and Churches of God Lexicon more completely anonymous website blogs to add to the ever growing list. How do these website blog writers think it is coming across?

Anonymous said...

Anon, April 13, 2020 at 7:57 AM, said: "...Concretized Christianity and Churches of God Lexicon more completely anonymous website blogs to add to the ever growing list. How do these website blog writers think it is coming across?..."

How do they think it is coming along? I don't know, but that Lexicon went on to add another paragraph, as follows:

******
"...The work of God is the renewing of our minds, the changing of our hearts and spirits, and the development of God’s holy, righteous character. No human can do that. I can’t and you can’t. But God and Jesus Christ can and will.
Let’s let scripture (this is not exhaustive, but a sampling) tell us what God’s work is and see if it aligns with what the church of God organizations tell us God’s work is:
Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
John 6:29 – “Jesus answered and said to them, “’This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’”
Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
Philippians 2:13 – “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
Psalm 138:8 – “The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands.”
Hebrews 13:20-21 – “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
******

And if nothing else, that all makes a lot of sense, but time will tell...

John

Stephen Schley said...

Good article& comments.

(at least the 5 I saw)

L8RZ

Anonymous said...

Anon, April 13, 2020 at 7:57 AM, said: "...Concretized Christianity and Churches of God Lexicon more completely anonymous website blogs to add to the ever growing list. How do these website blog writers think it is coming across?..."

First, Concretized Christianity is the website and Churches of God Lexicon is a blog entry on that site. It's one site and a blog on that site.

Second, anonymous sites that can honestly and openly discuss the untruths and the errors in the churches of God are usually designed that way on purpose. Instead of making the focus of the website and its blogs about a person (self-promotion, etc.), the focus is where it should be: on the disparity between what the churches of God teach and believe and what the word of God actually says.

Whether anyone reads it or not is not important. What's important is that it is there when people start really studying the word of God and seeing the differences between what they have been taught and what God's word actually says.

When you remove personality and ego (which every writer has a good bit of because that's the nature of creativity) and simply and anonymously write about things, then the reader can focus on what is written about, not the writer.

Anonymous said...

5:23a.m. I agree that sites like this can play a valuable roll within the body of Christ. First of all they are not group centric and for the most part do not promote the identity or "authority" of any one corporate church, which can potentially benefit a greater number of those in the spiritual body. Secondly as shared above, the identity and self promotion of the individual making the posts is completely removed from the picture, lending a freedom of expression that is otherwise missing from the larger body.

If the person has not risen through the ranks of one the groups and is not "ordained" to speak or given permission to express themselves, then their thoughts and their voice is silenced within whatever corporate group they happen to be a part of, even if what they have to say would be of benefit to the rest of the body. The only way to get around this sometimes is to find ways around the system, which is what people who remain anonymous seek to do.

Ordination within the corporate cog groups has in many cases simply become a way for those who seek a certain amount of perceived power to climb the ladder, or a way to reward someone for sticking to the party line and parroting the "official" doctrine of the organization, rather than a way to simply recognize those who are already serving as servants within the body of Christ. It then becomes a way to reinforce the club mentality and perceived authority within the corporate group. It has also become a way to limit the function of the gifts of the body to being exercised only by those officially recognized as having "authority" or given "permission" to do so. God did not intend the body to function with only a few at the top of a man made hierarchy having a voice or using a gift. He has given all a voice and various gifts, and it is the job of those gifted as leaders to facilitate and equip everyone to use their voice and their gifts, rather than silencing everyone. Sometimes it is the voice that comes out of nowhere and has no recognized position that God chooses to use in the mightiest way, because it is those people who don't get as hung up on themselves, their egos, or their own authority. They are simply sharing what they feel God wants them to share, with the understanding that it isn't about them, it's about Him.

Concerned Sister

Anonymous said...

Concerned Sister wrote: "...God did not intend the body to function with only a few at the top of a man made hierarchy having a voice or using a gift. He has given all a voice and various gifts, and it is the job of those gifted as leaders to facilitate and equip everyone to use their voice and their gifts, rather than silencing everyone..."


That is an interesting point when one considers the following information regarding what is to be dominated over:

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Genesis 1:26

It did not mention man having dominion over other men/women. Also, Adam and Eve were created with "very good" (Genesis 1:31) human nature.

One might wonder about the following instruction to the woman after Satan infested/infected the minds of both Adam and Eve and had overwhelmed/overcome the "very good" human nature of each of them:

"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire [shall be] to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." [{to thy … : or, subject to thy husband} Genesis 3:16

I do not think that is talking about dominion of man over woman, but that the fruits of Satan's spirit in Adam's mind would manifest themselves in his dealings with his wife.

The fruits of God's Spirit (e.g. James 4:5; 2 Tim 2:26;) are mentioned in Galatians 5 and elsewhere in the Bible. The fruits of Satan's spirit would be the opposite of those fruits. Of course, those evil fruits would be manifested in both of their minds and be in evidence among the lives of other human beings...kind of like it is in today's present evil world, but...

Time will tell.

John

Anonymous said...

Anon, April 11, 2020 at 8:06 AM, said:
******
"God warned Israel, obey me and this will happen, disobey me and this will happen.

It's not as if he just sent a plague for no reason and no warning.

Typical of those who hate everything bible though."
******
Yes, God warned ancient physical Israel, but why? If one looks back into the context beginning with Amos 4:1, one will see how Israel was treating its poor and needy citizens:

Amos 10:1 Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that [are] in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.

They, for whatever reason/cause, were not treated very nicely! So, the warnings begin in verse 2:

:2 The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.
:3 And ye shall go out at the breaches, every [cow at that which is] before her; and ye shall cast [them] into the palace, saith the LORD. [{cast … : or, cast away the things of the palace}]
:4 Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, [and] your tithes after three years: [{three … : Heb. three years of days }]
:5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim [and] publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. [{offer: Heb. offer by burning }] [{this … : Heb. so ye love }]
:6 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Despite all of that, Israel still had not "returned unto" God. Why not? They couldn't! Then more warnings followed:

:7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when [there were] yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.
:8 So two [or] three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Still no repentance! Why not? Then, more warnings!

:9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured [them]: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. [{when … : or, the multitude of your gardens, etc. did the palmerworm}]

Still no repentance! Is the LORD so inefficient, so wimpy, so inept that He couldn’t get those Israelites to repent?

to be continued...

John

Anonymous said...

Continuing…

It's an example. An example to show that people can't just repent on their own. These ancient people will live again and never act that way again, b/c God wasn't through working with them. It is God that gives/grants repentance, something we of ourselves are incapable of. They will be resurrected along with Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Grecians, Romans...and Gogites (7th head of beast Rev 17:), etc. including Adam and Eve.

Still no return to God! Why not? Another warning comes (sounds almost like how the future Trumps (wrath of the Lamb BEFORE Satan enters the pit) and the 7 Vials (wrath of God AFTER Satan exits the pit) occur one after another over a lengthy period of time, and there is virtually no return to God: no repentance/change!

And then, the warning displayed on that billboard structure:

:10 “I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.”

The Bible is loaded with many such similar examples, but what will be the end result (of the matter) later for the ancient physical Israelites AFTER they are resurrected (and this has nothing to do with the Mickey Mouse Millennium (MMM) of “another Jesus” reigning on earth for 1,000 years)?

Here is one example (of many similar promises that are for AFTER the MMM) of the end result:

Jeremiah 32: 37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:
38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: {for ever: Heb. all days }
40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. {from them: Heb. from after them }
41 Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. {assuredly: Heb. in truth, or, stability }
42 For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.

Notice that God makes that all happen (notice especially :38-40); He promises to do all of that, and if He doesn’t, then He is a liar. Believe it or not!

Time will tell…

John

Anonymous said...

John, you keep bringing up the Mickey Mouse Millennium but as of late you haven't explained what you mean. Does the bible not teach a millennium/1,000 years of Christ's reign?