Does God plan our life in advance? Has God predetermined our future? One small step further in this relationship building is to understand better God’s personal plan for each of us. We need some context to set the groundwork to address these questions. There may be some knowledge that we need to unlearn. Two areas of context that are important in theology are the “fall of man" and the “original sin” as they are commonly believed today. The fall of man takes us back to the beginning in the … [Read more...] about Predestination
Original Sin
Our Old Man
In assessing the many aspects of the body of Christ, the thing that stands out to me is that we have a personal responsibility to the body. We cannot sidestep that. We could summarize that responsibility as: “But the manifestation of the Spirit (or the fruit or the expression of the Spirit) is given to each one for the profit of all:” (1 Corinthians 12:7). To be able to express the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), obviously one must first have it. This is where our individual … [Read more...] about Our Old Man
Do We Have an Immortal Soul?
Recently I read a statement made by a major religious denomination based in the United States that surprised me. They wrote, “Divine grace is needed by every soul in consequence of the Fall of Adam." What is meant by “soul” is not stated, but the belief in the “fall of Adam” is linked to the belief that man has an immortal soul. The “fall of Adam” is a widely held belief and without some thought it may seem a reasonable description of what happened in the Garden of Eden. First, we need to … [Read more...] about Do We Have an Immortal Soul?