CIP
Chistian Institute of Philosophy
Notes
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. - Jesus
Page 4
37. Do not look for the ability to forgive within yourself (old self). It is not there. Look for the ability to forgive in the new self (new creation) built by the life of Christ in you. The new life is based in the New reality of the finished work of Christ. It believes that "All things work together for good for those in Christ." It believes in the Joesph truth. "They meant it for evil, but God meant it for good."
38. "...But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 2:15 It seems appropriate and proper theology to say that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil can also be called the tree of death. Choosing between the tree of life and the tree of death was and still is the great choice of every human being. "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, that both you and your children may live." Deuteronomy 30:19
39. When we choose Christ we are choosing the tree of life. When we choose the world system we are choosing the tree of death. Note the tree of death was "good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise, ...". Genesis 3:6 Does this sound like anything we see today in the world system of the twenty first century?
40. The fact that something is a matter of interpretation is not a problem. All truth is a matter of interpretation. That is what your brain is designed to do - interpret the world around you. The problem is to make sure you find the right interpretation. You will know when you find it, because right interpretation produces blessing and life. Wrong interpretation produces corruption and death.
41. A sign of psychological, philosophical, and spiritual maturity is the ability to see two truths which contradict each other, and to be able to accept both of them. This is a sign of maturity because it is acknowledging the limitations of the human mind to decipher reality. Thus neither truth is discarded, because you will need both of them somewhere down the road.
42. I would rather believe in a truth with crudulity, than to discard a truth, and live a reality that only exists in a bubble of normalized world-system crudulity. This is especially true when this world-system bubble excludes some of the most beautiful experiences of human existence.
43. One of the reasons a true Christian marriage is so stable is because the husband and wife always have a common ground to go to when problems arise. "For in Christ there neither male nor female." In Spirit we are all equal in the eyes of God. The life of Christ in you is the same as the life of Christ in your mate. (Think about that!) How are you treating the Lord who lives within your mate?
43. One of the reasons a true Christian marriage is so stable is because you alway can go to God for an answer when your mate is not able to give you one. There very likely will be a time in your marriage when you tell your mate there is a big problem in the relationship and he or she will not be able to hear you. And, over the years it becomes obvious that because of a psychological stronghold or a temperment stronghold your mate will never be able to address this problem - no matter how many times you tell them it bothers you. When this happens, only a new in flow of new information and revelation from God is going to rescue the family. You will have to depend upon the Holy Spirit to flow around this stronghold and move on into a deeper more Spiritual marriage that can forgive - sometimes on a daily basis. But you will find that any such problem is an opportunity to see God work.
44. For the true Christian, their relationship with Christ informs every part of their life. For those people who do not believe in Christ, this also informs every part of their life.
45. The Esau Complex: The willingness to give up so much, inorder to gain so little. A temperament that cannot see the true consequences of life decisions. So a person will give up a birthright inorder to get a bowl of oatmeal. This temperament is usually impulsive and very "present living" oriented.
46. Infinity is being haunted by what is over the horizon and when you get to the horizon another horizon appears. The horizon always receeds from you forever.
47. I in Christ for my justification and Christ in me for my sanctification.
48. The reason you cannot live on past experiences of life, is because 1. Memory fades and you cannot remember most of the experience. and 2. When we remember the past we are confronted with "what it meant". In other words, when we live it - the need for context and meaning is shouded in the moment by the living of life. But, when we think back 30 or 40 or 50 years ago to an experience (good or bad) we can't help but ask about the significance of the happening in the context of our whole life - in the context of what we now know having lived all these years. This search for context for memories is really a search for existential meaning. If you do not place all of life into the context of God, you will find that even the good memories have an odd feel of emptiness and sadness. Sadness, because no matter how wonderful the happening was, it is now gone - and gone forever - it will never ever come again. So then the next unavoidable question is: "Did the happening truly mean anything when I lived it?" I now have all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle out on the table, because of all of the experiences I have lived. But, I do not see how they fit together! I do not see a picture to give them meaning - only bits and pieces of a lifetime with very little connection and no over all picture of beauty and worth.
49. We are three dimensional creatures. We are physical, psychological, and Spiritual. Just as we need to eat physical food to keep our physical dimension alive and healthy, we must also eat psychologically and Spiritually to keep these dimensions alive and healthy. Becareful what you eat in all three dimensions. Good food promotes good health. Bad food promotes bad health.