Elihu
04-28-2007, 05:12 PM
this will take me some time please be patient
"his master will appoint him, over all his belongings" matt24 45-47
"you must not let people call you leaders-you have only one leader Christ! (matt 23 :10, the nt in mod eng.)
with these words jesus made it plain to his followers that no man on earth would be their leader. their one leader would be heavenly- jesus Christ himself. jesus holds this position by divine appointment.
Jehovah raised him up from the dead.....made him head over all things to the congregation which is his body" ephe 1:20-23
since christ is "head over all things" with regard to the christian congregation, he excercises his authority over all that takes place within the congregation. Nothing that occurs within the congregation escapes his notice. he closely observes the spiritual conditionof each group of christians or congregation
this is clearly apparent in the revelation given to the apostle john given at the end of the first century C.E to seven congregations, Jesus stated five times that he knew their deeds, their strong points, their weaknesess, and he gave counsel and encouragement accordingly(rev 2:2,9,13 19; 3:1,8,15)
There is every reason to believe that Christ was equally familiar with the spiritual condition of other congregations in Asia Minor, Palestine, Syria, babylonia,Greece, Italy, and elsewhere (Acts1:8)
What of today?
a faithful slave
After His resurrection and shortly before his ascension to his father in heaven, jesus told his disciples: "all authority has been give me in heaven and on earth" He also said " Look i am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things"(matt 28:18-20)
he would continue to be with themas their active head. in letters to christians in Ephesus and Colossae, the apostle paul likened the christian congregation to a "body" of which Christ is the head (eph 1:22,23; col 1:18)
the cambridge bible for schools and colleges states that this metaphor "suggests that not only vital union with the head, but that the will of the head is execised through the members.
They are his instruments"
whom has christ used as his collective instrument since being invested with Kingdom power in 1914 daniel 7:13,14
The prophecy of Malachi foretold that Jehovah "the true Lord", accompanied by his "messenger of the covenant", his newly enthroned Son, Christ Jesus, would come in judgement to inspect his "temple", or spiritual house of worship
"the appointed time for the judgement of the house of God to begin evidently arrived in 1918 (Malachi 3:1 1 Peter 4:17)
those claiming to represent God and his true worship on earth were duly examined. The churches of christendom, who for centuries had taught God - dishonoring doctrines and had been heavily involved in the massacre of WW1 were rejected
A faithful remnant of spirit annointed christians were tested, refined as with fire, and approved, becoming to jehovah" peole presenting a gift offering in righteousness"- Malachi 3:3
In line with malachi's prophecy, the composite sign that jesus gave his disciples to enable them to recognise the time of his "presence and of the conclusion of the system of things" included the identification of a collective "slave".
jesus stated " who really is the faithful and discrete slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? Happy is that slaveif his master on arriving finds him doing so. truly i say to you he will appoint him over all his belongings" matt 24:3,45-47
"on arriving" to inspect the " slave" in 1918, Christ found a spirit annionted remnant of faithful disciples who since 1879 has been using this journal and other bible based publications to provide spiritual "food at the proper time"
He acknowleged them as his collective instrument, or "slave" and in 1919 entrusted them with the management of all his earthly belongings.
managing christ earthly belongings
a few months before Jesus gave his prohecy on the sign of his presence, including the existance of a "slave" representing him on earth, he spoke of this slave in slightly different terms that shed light on the slaves responsibilities. Jesus stated " who really is the faithful steward, the discrete one, whom his master will appoint over his body of attendants to keep giving them their measure of food supplies at the proper time? I tell you truthfully, he will appoint him over all his belongings "luke 12:42,44
here the slave is called a steward, a word translated from greek term denoting " the manager of a household or estate"the collective steward would not simply be a group of intellectuals who explain interesting points from the Bible. In addition to providing nourishing spiritual food " at the proper time" " the faithful steward" would be appointed over the entire body of Christ's attendants and assigned to manage all of Christ's interests on earth "all his belongings" what would this entail?
the slave's responsibilities include the supervision of the material facilities used by Christ's followers to carry out their christian activities, such as the world headquarters and branch officves of jehovah's witnesses, as well as their places of worship- Kingdom hallsand assembly halls- throughout the world. More important, the slave also oversees spritually upbuilding programs of bible study art weekly meetings and periodic assemblies and conventions.
at these gatherings, information on the fulfillment of bible prohecies is dispensed, and timley direction on how to apply Bible principles in daily life is given. the steward's responsibilities also include the supervision of the all important work of prweaching " this good news of the kingdom" and "making disciples of people of all the nations"
This involves teaching peole to observe qll the things that Christ the head of the congregation, commands to be done during this time of the end.(mat 24:14; 28:19,20; rev 12:17)
The preaching and teaching work has produced " a great crowd" of loyal companions of the annointed remnant. these "desirable things of all the nations" are undoubtedly to be counted among the precious " belongings" of christ administered by the faithful slave.
rev 7:9; Haggai 2:7
a representative Governing Body
the faithful slave's heavy responsibilities would obviosly involve much decision making. In the early Christian congregation the apostles and elders in jerusalem acted in a representative way, making decisions for the entire christian congregation ( acts 15 1,2)
the decisions of this firsat century governing body were transmitted to the congregations by means of letters and travelling representatives. The early christians were happy to recieve this clear direction, and theur willing cooperation with the governing body promoted peace and unity - acts 15:22-31 16:4,5 ; Phil 2:2
As in early christian times, a small group of spirit annointed overseers make up the governing body of christ's followers on earth today. By means of his "right hand" of applied power, christ, the head of the congregation, directs these faithful men as they supervise the kingdom work (rev 1:16,20)
In his life story, Albert Schroeder, a longtime member of the governing body who recently finished his earthly course, wrote
" the governing body meets every wednesday, opening the meeting with prayer and asking for the direction of jehovah's spirit. A real effort is made to see that every matter that is handled and every decision that is made is in harmony with gods word The Bible"
we can have confidence in such faithful annointed christians. regarding tham in particular, we shopuld heed the apostles paul's injunction " be obedient toi those who are taking the lead among you and be submissive, for they are keeping warch over your souls" - heb 13:17
showing due respect for the faithful slave
A fundamental reason for showing proper respect foir the faithful slave class is that by so doing, we are in fact showing respect for the master, jesus christ. Paul wrote of the annointed ones " he that was called when a freeman is a slave of Christ.
You were bought with a price" (1Cor 7:22,23; Eph6:6) Therefore when we loyally submit to the direction of the faithful slave and its governing body, we are submitting to Christ, the slave's Master. Our showing due respect for the instrument Christ is using to manage his earthly belongings is one way in which we " openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the lord to the glory of God the Father" - Phil 2:11
Another scriptural reason for for showing respect for the faithful slave is that annointed christians on earth are figuratively spoken of as a " temple" that jehovah in habits " by spirit" as such they are "holy" ( 1 Cor 3:16,17; Eph 2:19-22) It is to this holy temple class that Jesus has entrusted his earthly belongings, which means that certain rights and responsibilities within the christian congregation belong exclusively to this collective slave.
For this reason, all in the congregation view it as their sacred duty to follow and uphold the direction coming from the faithful slave and it's governing body. indeed the "other sheep" count it a ral privelidge to assist the slave class in caring for the Masters interests- John 10:16
Giving Loyal Support
The humble submission of the other sheep to the annointed members of spiritual Israel was foretold in the prophesy of isaiah:
" This is what jehovah has said " the unpaid labourers of egypt and the merchants of ethiopia and the sabeans, tall men, will themselves come over even to you , and yours they will become. behind you they will walk; in fetters they will come over, even to you they will bow down. To you they will pray, saying " Indeed God is in union with you, and there is no one else; there is no other God"" (Isaiah 45:14)
symbolically, the other sheep today walk behind the annointed slave class and its governing body, following their leadership. as "unpaid labourers" the other sheep willing expend their physical strength and their resources in support of the world wide preaching work that Christ assigned to his annointed followers on earth- acts 1;8; rev 12:17
The other sheep are happy and grateful to serve Jehovah under the oversight of the slave class and its governing body. they recognise the annointed as members of the "israel of God" (gal 6:16) As figurative "strangers" and "foreigners" associated with spiritual Israel, they joyfully serve as "farmers" and " vinedressers" under the direction of the annointed , the "priests of jehovah" and "ministers of God" (Isaiah 61:5,6)
They zealously share in preaching this good news of the kingdom and in making disciples of people of all the nations. They give wholehearted assistance to the slave class in shepherding and nurturing newly found sheeplike ones.
the other sheep recognise that they have greatly benefited from the diligent efforts of the faithful slave in supplying them with timely spiritual food. They humbly acknowledge that were it not for the the faithful and discreet slave, they would know little or nothing of precious bible truths, such as jehovahs sovereignty, the sanctification of His name, the kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth, the soul, the condition of the dead, and the true identity of Jehovah, his Son, and the Holy spirit. out of sheer gratitude and loyalty, the other sheep lovingly support christs annointed "brothers" on the earth during this time of the end.- matt 25:40
In view of their diminishing numbers, the annointed cannot be present in all congregations to ensure the management of Christ's belongings. consequently, the Governing Body appoints men from among the other sheep to positions of oversight in branch offices, districts, circuits, and congregations of Jehovah's witnesses.
Does our attitude towards these undershepherds have a bearing on our loyalty to Christ and his faithful slave? this will be considered in the following article.
end
elihu
"his master will appoint him, over all his belongings" matt24 45-47
"you must not let people call you leaders-you have only one leader Christ! (matt 23 :10, the nt in mod eng.)
with these words jesus made it plain to his followers that no man on earth would be their leader. their one leader would be heavenly- jesus Christ himself. jesus holds this position by divine appointment.
Jehovah raised him up from the dead.....made him head over all things to the congregation which is his body" ephe 1:20-23
since christ is "head over all things" with regard to the christian congregation, he excercises his authority over all that takes place within the congregation. Nothing that occurs within the congregation escapes his notice. he closely observes the spiritual conditionof each group of christians or congregation
this is clearly apparent in the revelation given to the apostle john given at the end of the first century C.E to seven congregations, Jesus stated five times that he knew their deeds, their strong points, their weaknesess, and he gave counsel and encouragement accordingly(rev 2:2,9,13 19; 3:1,8,15)
There is every reason to believe that Christ was equally familiar with the spiritual condition of other congregations in Asia Minor, Palestine, Syria, babylonia,Greece, Italy, and elsewhere (Acts1:8)
What of today?
a faithful slave
After His resurrection and shortly before his ascension to his father in heaven, jesus told his disciples: "all authority has been give me in heaven and on earth" He also said " Look i am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things"(matt 28:18-20)
he would continue to be with themas their active head. in letters to christians in Ephesus and Colossae, the apostle paul likened the christian congregation to a "body" of which Christ is the head (eph 1:22,23; col 1:18)
the cambridge bible for schools and colleges states that this metaphor "suggests that not only vital union with the head, but that the will of the head is execised through the members.
They are his instruments"
whom has christ used as his collective instrument since being invested with Kingdom power in 1914 daniel 7:13,14
The prophecy of Malachi foretold that Jehovah "the true Lord", accompanied by his "messenger of the covenant", his newly enthroned Son, Christ Jesus, would come in judgement to inspect his "temple", or spiritual house of worship
"the appointed time for the judgement of the house of God to begin evidently arrived in 1918 (Malachi 3:1 1 Peter 4:17)
those claiming to represent God and his true worship on earth were duly examined. The churches of christendom, who for centuries had taught God - dishonoring doctrines and had been heavily involved in the massacre of WW1 were rejected
A faithful remnant of spirit annointed christians were tested, refined as with fire, and approved, becoming to jehovah" peole presenting a gift offering in righteousness"- Malachi 3:3
In line with malachi's prophecy, the composite sign that jesus gave his disciples to enable them to recognise the time of his "presence and of the conclusion of the system of things" included the identification of a collective "slave".
jesus stated " who really is the faithful and discrete slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? Happy is that slaveif his master on arriving finds him doing so. truly i say to you he will appoint him over all his belongings" matt 24:3,45-47
"on arriving" to inspect the " slave" in 1918, Christ found a spirit annionted remnant of faithful disciples who since 1879 has been using this journal and other bible based publications to provide spiritual "food at the proper time"
He acknowleged them as his collective instrument, or "slave" and in 1919 entrusted them with the management of all his earthly belongings.
managing christ earthly belongings
a few months before Jesus gave his prohecy on the sign of his presence, including the existance of a "slave" representing him on earth, he spoke of this slave in slightly different terms that shed light on the slaves responsibilities. Jesus stated " who really is the faithful steward, the discrete one, whom his master will appoint over his body of attendants to keep giving them their measure of food supplies at the proper time? I tell you truthfully, he will appoint him over all his belongings "luke 12:42,44
here the slave is called a steward, a word translated from greek term denoting " the manager of a household or estate"the collective steward would not simply be a group of intellectuals who explain interesting points from the Bible. In addition to providing nourishing spiritual food " at the proper time" " the faithful steward" would be appointed over the entire body of Christ's attendants and assigned to manage all of Christ's interests on earth "all his belongings" what would this entail?
the slave's responsibilities include the supervision of the material facilities used by Christ's followers to carry out their christian activities, such as the world headquarters and branch officves of jehovah's witnesses, as well as their places of worship- Kingdom hallsand assembly halls- throughout the world. More important, the slave also oversees spritually upbuilding programs of bible study art weekly meetings and periodic assemblies and conventions.
at these gatherings, information on the fulfillment of bible prohecies is dispensed, and timley direction on how to apply Bible principles in daily life is given. the steward's responsibilities also include the supervision of the all important work of prweaching " this good news of the kingdom" and "making disciples of people of all the nations"
This involves teaching peole to observe qll the things that Christ the head of the congregation, commands to be done during this time of the end.(mat 24:14; 28:19,20; rev 12:17)
The preaching and teaching work has produced " a great crowd" of loyal companions of the annointed remnant. these "desirable things of all the nations" are undoubtedly to be counted among the precious " belongings" of christ administered by the faithful slave.
rev 7:9; Haggai 2:7
a representative Governing Body
the faithful slave's heavy responsibilities would obviosly involve much decision making. In the early Christian congregation the apostles and elders in jerusalem acted in a representative way, making decisions for the entire christian congregation ( acts 15 1,2)
the decisions of this firsat century governing body were transmitted to the congregations by means of letters and travelling representatives. The early christians were happy to recieve this clear direction, and theur willing cooperation with the governing body promoted peace and unity - acts 15:22-31 16:4,5 ; Phil 2:2
As in early christian times, a small group of spirit annointed overseers make up the governing body of christ's followers on earth today. By means of his "right hand" of applied power, christ, the head of the congregation, directs these faithful men as they supervise the kingdom work (rev 1:16,20)
In his life story, Albert Schroeder, a longtime member of the governing body who recently finished his earthly course, wrote
" the governing body meets every wednesday, opening the meeting with prayer and asking for the direction of jehovah's spirit. A real effort is made to see that every matter that is handled and every decision that is made is in harmony with gods word The Bible"
we can have confidence in such faithful annointed christians. regarding tham in particular, we shopuld heed the apostles paul's injunction " be obedient toi those who are taking the lead among you and be submissive, for they are keeping warch over your souls" - heb 13:17
showing due respect for the faithful slave
A fundamental reason for showing proper respect foir the faithful slave class is that by so doing, we are in fact showing respect for the master, jesus christ. Paul wrote of the annointed ones " he that was called when a freeman is a slave of Christ.
You were bought with a price" (1Cor 7:22,23; Eph6:6) Therefore when we loyally submit to the direction of the faithful slave and its governing body, we are submitting to Christ, the slave's Master. Our showing due respect for the instrument Christ is using to manage his earthly belongings is one way in which we " openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the lord to the glory of God the Father" - Phil 2:11
Another scriptural reason for for showing respect for the faithful slave is that annointed christians on earth are figuratively spoken of as a " temple" that jehovah in habits " by spirit" as such they are "holy" ( 1 Cor 3:16,17; Eph 2:19-22) It is to this holy temple class that Jesus has entrusted his earthly belongings, which means that certain rights and responsibilities within the christian congregation belong exclusively to this collective slave.
For this reason, all in the congregation view it as their sacred duty to follow and uphold the direction coming from the faithful slave and it's governing body. indeed the "other sheep" count it a ral privelidge to assist the slave class in caring for the Masters interests- John 10:16
Giving Loyal Support
The humble submission of the other sheep to the annointed members of spiritual Israel was foretold in the prophesy of isaiah:
" This is what jehovah has said " the unpaid labourers of egypt and the merchants of ethiopia and the sabeans, tall men, will themselves come over even to you , and yours they will become. behind you they will walk; in fetters they will come over, even to you they will bow down. To you they will pray, saying " Indeed God is in union with you, and there is no one else; there is no other God"" (Isaiah 45:14)
symbolically, the other sheep today walk behind the annointed slave class and its governing body, following their leadership. as "unpaid labourers" the other sheep willing expend their physical strength and their resources in support of the world wide preaching work that Christ assigned to his annointed followers on earth- acts 1;8; rev 12:17
The other sheep are happy and grateful to serve Jehovah under the oversight of the slave class and its governing body. they recognise the annointed as members of the "israel of God" (gal 6:16) As figurative "strangers" and "foreigners" associated with spiritual Israel, they joyfully serve as "farmers" and " vinedressers" under the direction of the annointed , the "priests of jehovah" and "ministers of God" (Isaiah 61:5,6)
They zealously share in preaching this good news of the kingdom and in making disciples of people of all the nations. They give wholehearted assistance to the slave class in shepherding and nurturing newly found sheeplike ones.
the other sheep recognise that they have greatly benefited from the diligent efforts of the faithful slave in supplying them with timely spiritual food. They humbly acknowledge that were it not for the the faithful and discreet slave, they would know little or nothing of precious bible truths, such as jehovahs sovereignty, the sanctification of His name, the kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth, the soul, the condition of the dead, and the true identity of Jehovah, his Son, and the Holy spirit. out of sheer gratitude and loyalty, the other sheep lovingly support christs annointed "brothers" on the earth during this time of the end.- matt 25:40
In view of their diminishing numbers, the annointed cannot be present in all congregations to ensure the management of Christ's belongings. consequently, the Governing Body appoints men from among the other sheep to positions of oversight in branch offices, districts, circuits, and congregations of Jehovah's witnesses.
Does our attitude towards these undershepherds have a bearing on our loyalty to Christ and his faithful slave? this will be considered in the following article.
end
elihu