Author Archives: admin

How Do You View People? Regard No One According To The Flesh

Tom Crandall

How do you view people? Do you see them through the eyes of God? Before Jesus came into my life eleven years ago, I viewed other people as rivals, threats, obstacles, pawns, and pieces of meat for my consumption. I regarded people as objects that threatened my selfish desires or subjects that facilitated them.

The Word of God tells us that the thief came to steal, kill, and destroy. I didn’t know truth and I didn’t know love—I didn’t know Jesus. I didn’t have wisdom, I didn’t have understanding. I didn’t know how to give love selflessly, and I didn’t know how to receive love. Continue reading “How Do You View People? Regard No One According To The Flesh” »

Sons of Abraham: A Dual Fulfillment Of The Promise Of People

Tom Crandall

Many times we see a dual fulfillment of prophetic texts. For example, regarding the promise to Abraham (Abram) that God would make him a great nation.

Keith Mathison writes (https://www.ligonier.org/blog/promise-abraham-unfolding-biblical-eschatology):

“In Genesis 12:2, God promises that he will make of Abram “a great nation.” This promise will be fulfilled initially in the birth of the nation of Israel. This promise necessarily implies that Abram will have offspring, but like the promise of land, the promise of offspring is only made explicit when Abram reaches Canaan (cf. 12:7). The promise of offspring is also related to God’s ultimate kingdom purposes. Just as the land promise provides a realm for God’s kingdom in the midst of his creation, the promise of offspring anticipates a people for his kingdom.”

1. The initial fulfillment regarding the sons of Abraham is the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the ethnic nation of Israel. (Note: Sojourners and proselytes were also included in the nation of Israel)

In the new testament, Paul reveals a stunning truth: The phrase, “sons of Abraham,” does not allude only to the physical descendants, but also to a group of spiritual descendants, counted righteous by faith (Galatians 3:28-29; Romans 4:11), like the man of faith, Abraham.

2. The second, or, ultimate fulfillment of the promise, refers to all the spiritual sons of Abraham: Jew and gentile; all who are counted righteous by faith.

If there are natural sons of Abraham and spiritual sons of Abraham, does not Scripture also bear out the mystery, that there is not only a natural Israel (the twelve tribes of Israel) but also a spiritual Israel (made up of Jew and Gentile), who are longing for the city to come (Hebrews 11:10;13-16; 13:14), who comprise the bride of Christ (Revelation 19:7-8), who will serve as a royal priesthood in the coming kingdom of God (Revelation 1:5-6; 5:9-10), and receive and possess the kingdom for ever and ever (Daniel 7:27)?

Could this spiritual Israel, the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, be described as the “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16)?

Christian Used Books Online

Tom Crandall

Fully Known, Fully Loved, Inc. is a non-profit organization incorporated in the state of Arizona. We collect and sell Christian used books online at Christianusedbooks.org to support the vision.

The Vision is to establish homes for men and women, for the purpose of Christian discipleship, as we mature in relationship with God and others, to the full measure of the stature of Christ.

 

The most important relationship in the life of a believer is his or her relationship with God; everything else is secondary. When our hearts are regenerated by the Spirit of God, we have eyes to see that we were fearfully and wonderfully made by God, knitted together in our mothers’ wombs. We come to understand that He knows everything about us; there is nothing He does not know. He knows the number of hairs on our heads, our thoughts, our beliefs, the motives and intents of our hearts, all that we worship and place our hopes in, and much more. Continue reading “Christian Used Books Online” »

Will The Church Be Raptured?

Tom Crandall

The church, or original Greek, ekklesia, is not an institution nor is it a proper noun that is capitalized.  This informal term, ekklesia, as it applies to the people of God, is a congregation or assembly; a gathering or grouping of the called-out ones of God at any time on the earth.

In one instance, Hebrews 12:23, we read about a vision describing the assembly/church of all the saints in salvation history (OT and NT) gathered in heaven.  This vision meets fulfillment in Revelation 14:1-5.

It is comprised of faith-filled believers as well as faith-less unbelievers; all who gather, also known as the church visible.  The formal term for believers in our times is Christian, or, as a group, Christians.

1 Peter 4:16 “But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name.”

The old testament ekklesia was the nation of the twelve tribes of Israel (including sojourners and proselytes), called out of Egypt to be God’s possession; a people in covenant with God. Many in the old testament ekklesia were not saved because they were not united by faith with those who listened to the good news (Hebrews 4:2). The Object of faith for the old testament saints was the Coming One; the coming Christ who is to bruise the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). In Hebrews 11, we learn that Moses regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward (Hebrews 11:26). Continue reading “Will The Church Be Raptured?” »

The Lord Jesus Christ: Our Coming King

Tom Crandall

When does Jesus come to reign as King and displace the ruler of this world?

Revelation 11:15 “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16).

  1. Jesus is King of the Jews (Matthew 2:2, Mark 15:2, Luke 23:38).
  2. Jesus is King of Israel (John 1:49, John 12:13, Matthew 27:42, Mark 15:32).
  3. Jesus is King of the nations (Revelation 1:5, Revelation 11:15, Revelation 15:4).

Luke 19:38 “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Baruch Haba B’shem Adonai…

Sons of Abraham? Cultivated Olive Tree? Israel of God?

Tom Crandall

Are gentile believers fellow citizens with the saints and members of the commonwealth of Israel? Who was grafted into the cultivated olive tree of Romans 11?

Paul wrote that a true Jew is one inwardly with a circumcised heart, and that circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, and not by the letter? Is the inward Jew a member of the cultivated olive tree?

In the epistle to the Romans, Paul writes, “Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.” Is the Israel that Paul is referring to, the cultivated olive tree?

In the epistle to the Ephesians, Paul writes about a mystery—that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. Is this one body the cultivated olive tree?

Jesus said He has two folds and they will become one flock. Is the one flock of Jesus the cultivated olive tree? Continue reading “Sons of Abraham? Cultivated Olive Tree? Israel of God?” »

Sonship

Tom Crandall

Matthew 23:9 “And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.”

When asked which is the greatest commandment God has given, Jesus said, “to love Him.” A person’s love for God is directly proportionate to their knowledge of Him. This is why knowing your heavenly Father is everything.

My motivation for what I do is my love for my Father. I want to honor Him. I want to glorify Him. I want to share His goodness. I want to share His love. What would it be like if everyone knew God as Father?

In the western church the orphan spirit outwardly professes God as Father, but the internal experience is in contradiction to that belief, looking to performance, praise of man, and other idols. Love is not something you get; it is something you receive, and you receive it from your Father in heaven.

When you see yourself as a son or daughter your behavior changes without receiving any rules. The power of God’s love is amazing.

The orphan heart and the heart of sonship

Christian discipleship homes

To Destroy The Works Of The Devil

Tom Crandall

Before Christ came into my life seven years ago, I was clothed in the garments of lust, greed, and pride.  I made most of my decisions based on my emotions—based on what I felt; and I lived to avoid pain and gain pleasure.  My heart was a fountain of wickedness—idolizing and chasing after the things I coveted with no regard for offense against my Creator.

I didn’t know covenant love, nor did I know truth.  As a result, I was always trying to get love; I  recklessly pursued belief-systems and adopted paradigms that would enable and advance my sinful, selfish desires.  The many false beliefs I had presumed about God, others, and myself, allowed lies to operate in my life—creating division and separation, as well as destruction in the lives of others.

Because of my sin, wounds, and false beliefs, I was bound in shame.  As a result, I was always trying to cover, hide, escape, and control my shame. Continue reading “To Destroy The Works Of The Devil” »

Repentance: Confess & Forsake

3 Replies

I was a blasphemer and enemy of God my whole life until Father God drew me to Lord Jesus at age forty-five and I was radically converted to Christ.  At that time I had been living on the street for three years, addicted to alcohol and meth, stealing every day, hating myself and others, and crossing boundaries I never thought I would cross in my life—I was greatly demonized and my heart was set on evil.

Continue reading “Repentance: Confess & Forsake” »

By Faith We Shall Live

Tom Crandall

In the season of trials I have experienced since the beginning of 2018 God has been dealing with the pride of my heart and teaching me that the righteous shall live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38).  In fact, without faith it is impossible to please God; for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Continue reading “By Faith We Shall Live” »