2 Peter 1, 3 through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be sharers/partakers of/partners in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

PRAYER FOR ONENESS (John 17:11, 20-23)

“As history was rushing toward its focal point in his redemptive death, the persistent concern Christ expressed in his prayer was for the oneness of his followers … the same kind of oneness that prevailed between Father and Son within the Trinity.” (Bilezikian 35-36) ” … that they may be one as we are one.” (v. 11) “Jesus was asking for the restoration among humans of the oneness that had originally been entrusted to them in creation, a oneness made in the image of the oneness within the Trinity.” (Bilezikian 36)

Jesus said, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” (John 17, 20)

Reality Check.
“In our day, whenever the church is ineffective and its witness remains unproductive, the first questions that must be raised are whether the church functions as authentic community and whether it lives out the reality of its oneness. In a community-starved world, the most potent means of witness to the truth of the gospel is the magnetic power of the oneness that was committed by Christ to his new community at the center of history.” (37)

Bilezikian, Gilbert. Community 101: Reclaiming the Local Church as Community of Oneness. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997.

Crucifying our ego-centric self. 

“Sin is what fills the spiritual vacuum created by the loss of right relationship to God” (Tracy 33)

“Inward sin is not something we do, as A.W. Tozer taught, it is something you are. You grieve, for the at the deepest level you want to be like Christ. But there is a part of you that treasures lust, or harbors a lurking self-idolatry, or nourishes the ‘the drum major instinct’, or thirsts for praise, or protects a touchy ego, or affirms a cultural prejudice, or shelters unworthy motives, or rebels against continual obedience to God. Tozer called these ‘the hyphenated sins of the human soul.” He named some self-righteousness, self-pity, …. self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love.
The Spirit of the Lord is so gentle, yet so firm. Faithfully He confronts you with these un-Christlike affections. At first you may dismiss His gentle revelations or try to ignore, mislabel, or sidestep them. But He keeps bringing you back to the mirror of the Divine Light, where you can admit that you need to have your very inmost heart cleansed of sin. You are ready to join Charles Wesley in:

Show me as my heart can bear,
The depth of inbred sin;
All the unbelief declare,
The pride that lurks within.
Take me, whom Thyself hast bought,
Bring into captivity,
ev’ry high, aspiring thought,
That would not stoop to Thee. (Tracy 79)

“But between you the believer on the way to sanctification, and that blessed stat of ‘all loves excelling’ looms the cross, the hurdle of self-surrender. Along the road of growth in grace the Holy Spirit keeps inviting you to surrender the one thing you can’t give up. The one thing - or the things - to which you have given ’god value’.” “Such consecration is not easy. The bible calls it being crucified with Christ.” (Tracy 81)  ”But if you make your consecration complete, self-surrender can become the prelude to sanctification.” (Tracy 82) Do not think that loving submission to God in consecration does away with your personhood. Far from it, loving submission is the way to find your true personhood, your true self.” (Tracy 89)

Steps: “There is a sinful self to be crucified with Christ.”, “There is a human [or natural self] to be disciplined in Christ.” and “There is a true self to be actualised in Christ.” “The end God has in mind is the actualisation of the divine self. The goal of the New Age movement and of consumer psychology is self-actualisation, The goal of the gospel is Christ-actualisation - Christ lives in me.” (Tracy 89)

The reconciliation of our right relationship with God, to allow him to fill that spiritual vacuum, the place that is rightfully His.

Romans 8, 10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Sources quoted:

Tracy, Wes. et al. Reflecting God. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 2000.

Num 27:16 Let LORD/YHWH, the God/Elohim of the Spirit/Ruach of all/every/whole flesh/basar, set a man over the congregation, 17 Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd. And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom [is] the spirit/Ruach, and lay thine hand upon him; 

Isa 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

Rom 15:12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

Jesse is an anglicanized form of Yishay/Isai meaning my substance. Yesh being, existence, essence, substance. Yud as a suffix indicates first person singular possessive; av (father) becomes avi (my father).  So I do not agree with the general translation as “I possess”; “wealthy” only when used in reference to the underlying Hebrew root.  

Rev 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star.

Prov 27 19 As the face of water to face, so the heart of man to man.

as water reflects a face, so one’s heart is reflected by the other

Isa 25, 7 And he will destroy in this mountain [of Zion, the mount of David] the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken [it].

9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this [is] our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this [is] the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

10 For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.

The word used for vail here is maccekah followed by its Hebrew root from which it is derived, nacah.

maccekah is used eighteen times to denote a molten image as in the idol of the golden calf cast by the children of Israel in the desert: Exd 32:4, Exd 32:8, Deu 9:12, Deu 9:16.

Also one of the 10 commandments not to make a molten image, an idol: Exd 34:17 and Lev 19:4.

maccekah

1) a pouring, libation, molten metal, cast image, drink offering

     a) libation (with covenant sacrifice)

     b) molten metal, molten image, molten gods

2) web, covering, veil, woven stuff

nacak

1) to pour out, pour, offer, cast

     a) (Qal)

          1) to pour out

2) to cast metal images

3) to anoint (a king)

     b) (Niphal) to be anointed

     c) (Piel) to pour out (as a libation)

     d) (Hiphil) to pour out libations

     e) (Hophal) to be poured out

2) to set, install

     a) (Qal) to install

     b) (Niphal) to be installed

Now why is it so hard for us to turn to Him who is the source/well of life in us? Our vessel the work of his hands awaiting the gift of life, His Breath of life, waiting to be filled. Why do we instead search it outside of ourselves, turning to objects that will never inherit his glory or receive His name. Why do we need to learn the hard way? The hard and painfull lesson of free will.

Isa 30, 1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:

Isa 30, 14 And  he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water [withal] out of the pit.

15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Isa 43:7 [Even] every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

Isa 45:4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.

Isa 65:1 I am sought of [them that] asked not [for me]; I am found of [them that] sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation [that] was not called by my name.

Deu 31:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go [to be] among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will cathar [hide, conceal] my paniym [face, presence] from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God [is] not qereb [among us, amidst us, within us]?

qereb from qarab to come near, approach, enter into, draw near.

Paniym from panah, to turn to, to turn toward, to turn around, to turn back.

as in Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, panah ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Zech 12, 1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him

Deu 30:14 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, [and] if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it [is] not hidden from thee, neither [is] it far off.

12 It [is] not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13 Neither [is] it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

14 But the word [is] very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. 

15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

Deu 32:20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end [shall be]: for they [are] a very froward generation, children in whom [is] no faith.

Isa 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I, Woe [is] me! for I am undone; because I [am] a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, [which] he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid [it] upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here [am] I; send me.

9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, 12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and [there be] a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

13 But yet in it [shall be] a tenth, and [it] shall return, and shall be ba`ar [burned, consumed, kindled]: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance [is] in them, when they cast [their leaves: so] the holy seed [shall be] the substance thereof.

Aramaic Targum to Isaiah of verse 13. The Targums which are a translation and interpretive explanation of the text, were initially made in the intertestament period from 300 to 400 BCE and forward. Although added to after the time of Jesus they were initially composed before.

Translated Targum of Isaiah 6:13 And a tenth shall be left in it, and they shall be burnt up again: like a terebinth and like an oak, which appear to be dried up when their leaves fall, though they still retain their moisture to preserve a seed from them: so the exiles for Israel shall be gathered together, and shall return to their land; for a holy seed is their plant.

Eze 39:27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;  28 Then shall they know that I [am] the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.

29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

Translation of John by Paul Younan from the Aramaic Peshitta.

John 1 In the beginning was the Miltha 1. And that Miltha was with God. And God was that Miltha. 2. This was with God in the beginning. 3. Everything existed through His hands, and without Him, not even one thing existed of the things, which have existed.

4. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5. And that light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.

6. There was a man who was sent from God whose name was Yukhanan. 7. This man came for a witness that he might testify concerning the light that all might believe through his hand. 8. He was not the light; rather that he might bear witness concerning the light.

9. For the light was of truth, that which shines on all who come into the world.

10. He was in the world, and the world existed by his hand and the world did not know him. 11. He came to His own, and his own did not receive him.

12 But those who did receive him He gave to them authority that they might be the sons of God, those who have believed in His name.

13. Those who neither by blood nor by the will of the flesh nor by the will of a man, rather were begotten by God.

14. And the Miltha became flesh and dwelt among us and we saw his glory, the glory as the Echadaya 2 who is from the Father who is full of grace and truth.

Footnotes:
“Miltha” has no direct English equivalent. It can mean `Word’, `Manifestation’, `Instance’ or `Substance’, among many other things. In this context, it is best left untranslated.

“Ekhadaya” is a beautiful theological term employed by many Eastern theologians and poets. It literally means “THE ONE”

John 1 Aramaic Peshitta

Continued from post Be thou perfect/whole/complete as the fulfillment of the way of Abraham, walk before my presence and be thou tamiym, perfect/whole/complete.

Halak, akin to yalak, to walk, live, way of conduct, way of life, go out [for thyself gen 12, 1]

Paniym, presence, face, person, before. From panah to turn oneself, to turn to.

Isa 40, 3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare [panah] ye the way of the LORD, make straight [yashar] in the desert a highway for our God.

yashar, to make straight, to be straight especially of a way, to be upright, to be pleasing, be agreeable, to lead.

Isa 44, 3 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, [which] will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. 4 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:

Jesurun, upright one, a symbolic name for Israel describing her ideal character, from yashar, to make straight.

Psalm 84, 2 My soul longeth, yea, even kalah for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life/neshamah chaim; and man became a living soul/chai nephesh.

Job 12, 10 In whose hand [is] the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

Psalm 56, 13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: [wilt] not [thou deliver] my feet from falling, that I may walk/halak before God in the light/owr of the living/chaim?

kalah, to be complete, be at an end, to be completed, be finished, to be accomplished, be fulfilled, to put an end to, cause to cease.

Psalm 84, 11 … no good [thing] will he withhold from them that walk uprightly/halak tamiym.