83 Why were you born? | nazareneisrael2house

Why were you born?

Our world is driven by greed and most people want to get as much out of life as they possibly can. Parents want their children to work very hard in school so that they may be able to get to university in order to reach the top echelons in life. Every child is driven to reach their ultimate potential, but most people do not have an idea what the ultimate potential of human beings is. Not many people alive today, know why we are here on earth. Yet, most people have at some times in their lives wondered about these age-old questions: Why was I born? What is the meaning of life? What happens when I die? Mankind is in serious need of better knowledge about ourselves. Our self-ignorance is overwhelming, especially as far as moral and spiritual responsibility is concerned. We know so much more about animals and plants and even the nature of the sun, moon, stars and other planets, but vast areas of our humanity remain a mystery.

As a result, world conditions are becoming more and more dangerous on a daily basis and will soon spin out of control. Mankind urgently needs to understand the root cause of our moral and intellectual shortcomings. We desperately need knowledge from a source outside ourselves, not only about our physical and material needs, but in the mental and spiritual spheres of our lives. Modern civilization is ill-equipped to meet the spiritual needs of its inhabitants. Science is limited to the observable, and simply cannot provide us with what we need to know about ourselves. Adding to our difficulty in correctly understanding ourselves, is the fact that most of the religions in the world including those who confess faith in our Jewish Messiah, have been deceived to believe the exact opposite of what He taught and did whilst He was on earth. As a result, they have no idea about the meaning of life, and have been deceived to believe that good people go to heaven at death, whilst the wicked will land up in ‘hell’ after they die. It is true, the average very sincere church attendee, has been deceived by Satan and his many human agents, without realizing it, as witnessed in Revelation 12: 9, in this way: ‘And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.’

Very few people are aware that Elohim is currently in the process of creating spiritual children by forming His perfect character reproduced in those people whom He specifically called at this time, through the indwelling of His Set-apart Spirit. These spiritual children will one day in the near future assist Him to administer His government, which is presently in heaven, but will soon come to earth. When Elohim created man out of dust in His image and likeness as recorded in Genesis 1: 27, man was not the finished product that Elohim planned him to be, but was only complete in the physical sense. Even though Adam was a perfect image of Elohim, he was not a perfect spiritual creation. Adam was created from the dust of the ground subject to death, not immortal, but that was not how Elohim planned him to remain. In fact the account of the creation of the first man and woman, in the image of Elohim, hints at our ultimate potential. Before YHVH gives us the blessing of eternal life – our destiny as His children, He requires that each of us on an individual basis accepts His will and way for mankind. He wants us to obey His teachings for our own good, but also to live in peace with our brethren and others. To fully understand our human potential, we need to recognize and fight Satan’s influence in our lives. Satan is the fallen angel who has brought chaos and confusion to the earth and its inhabitants (see Isaiah 14: 12 – 14 and Ezekiel 28: 13 -16). According to 2 Corinthians 4: 4 his function is to blind the minds of unbelievers so that they do not see the light of the gospel (of the coming kingdom of Elohim) of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of Elohim.

We see from Psalm 8 that King David, like us today also pondered about the reason for mankind’s creation in Psalm 8: 3 & 4, saying: “When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; (4) What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him?” Thankfully we were given the answer to this important question in the second chapter of Hebrews, where the author of Hebrews quoted King David’s question in Psalm 8 verses 4, 5 and 6, and continue to give us the answer in the second part of verse 8 – 11, saying: ‘For in subjecting all things to him (meaning us), He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. (9) But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Yahshua, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of Elohim He might taste death for everyone (in that He paid the punishment due to us for our sins). (10) For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through suffering. (11) For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.” Yahshua our Messiah came specifically to show us the way to be born-again from the dead as His brethren and spiritual children of Elohim, the way He became the Son of Elohim, by the resurrection from the dead, as witnessed in Romans 1: 1 - 4[1]. In fact Rav Shaul confirmed this in Romans 8: 29, saying: ‘For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren.’ To be conformed ’to the image’ of Messiah means to become like Him; to be glorified and become part of the spiritual Family of Elohim, as recorded in 2 Corinthians 3: 18, as follows: ‘But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Master, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Master, the Spirit.’

We also see from Job 14: 14 & 15 that Job who lived during the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, realized that Elohim was forming a special creation in his life, in this way: “If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait, until my change comes. (15) Thou wilt call, and I will answer Thee; Thou wilt long for the work of Thy hands.” The truth is that YHVH our Elohim has created us for a definite purpose as witnessed in Ephesians 2: 10, as follows: ‘For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yahshua for good works, which Elohim prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.’ The ‘we’ spoken about in this verse refers to us as Nazarene Israelite believers. Like our Jewish Brothers, we, the called out believers in Messiah, are Elohim’s workmanship, and are at this time being created ‘for good works’. Elohim’s Set-apart Spirit given to our Jewish Brothers because of obedience (as per Acts 5: 32) and to us at immersion, is at this time busy forming Elohim’s perfect spiritual character in us, whilst He is slowly but surely writing the Renewed Covenant in our hearts and minds, to be completed when Messiah returns to remarry His bride made up of a remnant of both houses of Israel, in the foreseeable future. The spirit in man is so intertwined with his soul that only Elohim can separate it, as witnessed in Hebrews 4: 12, in this way: ‘For the word of Elohim is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit; of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’ Yes, the spirit and soul (life) in man are so closely connected that the way man lives reflects his spirit or character of mind. When we are immersed into Messiah’s saving name, we are given a portion of Elohim’s Set-apart Spirit and as we grow in grace and knowledge, asking Elohim for more of His Set-apart Sprit, our lives (souls) should begin to reflect Elohim’s character to the world. Man’s material creation is only the beginning phase of our creation. YHVH is shaping and molding us with the help of His Set-apart Spirit and by experience, into a spiritual reproduction of our Master Yahshua Messiah. The Gospel that Yahshua brought to mankind was simply to inform us about the coming Kingdom of Elohim. Nevertheless, that Kingdom will be dual in that it will not only be the ruling government which Messiah will establish on the earth, but it will also consist of the Spirit begotten children. Yahshua became the ‘Son’ of Elohim, not only to die for the sins of the world and to be able to remarry His bride at His return, but also to show us the way of Elohim, as our perfect example. YHVH our Elohim wants those of us whom He called out of the world, to overcome Satan, the pulls of our own flesh and the world, by living up to the standard that He sets for us, namely Yahshua the embodiment of His word (the Scriptures). If we succeed He will make us His children at Yahshua’s return, as He said in Revelation 21: 7, in this way: “He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his Elohim and he will be My son.”

Even so, we cannot reach our ultimate potential in this physical life. Rav Shaul described what must happen to flesh-and–blood believers in Messiah, before they are able to enter Elohim’s spiritual family in 1 Corinthians 15: 49 – 52, saying: ‘And Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (50) Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of Elohim; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. (51) Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.’ Yahshua clearly told Nicodemus in John 3: 5 – 8 that we must be born again, but this time of the Spirit of Elohim to be able to enter the kingdom of Elohim as His spiritual children, saying: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Elohim. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (7) Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ (8) The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Even so, if we are faithful and true believers, following the way of Elohim in this life, we are already His children, as Rav Yochanan explained in 1 John 3: 1 & 2, saying: ‘See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of Elohim; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (2) Beloved, now we are children of Elohim, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.’ Rav Shaul also explained this in Romans 8: 14 – 17, saying: ‘For all who are being led by the Spirit of Elohim, these are sons of Elohim. (15) For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Avinu! Father!” (16) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of Elohim, (17) and if children, heirs also, heirs of Elohim and fellow heirs with Messiah, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.’ At this point in time, we are only heirs who will receive our inheritance in the future, as we are at this stage only begotten children of Elohim. When we are born-again one day at Messiah’s return, we shall inherit the Kingdom of Elohim as His spiritual sons and daughters.

However, before our spiritual creation can begin, Elohim must beget each one of us by giving us His Set-apart Spirit at immersion into Yahshua’s saving name. That is when we are impregnated by the ‘seed’ of eternal life from the Father. Then, in the same way as a newly begotten physical embryo begins to grow in a mother’s womb, we begin to grow in Elohim’s Spiritual character. This growth comes through learning from teachers who have gone through similar discipleship programs as Messiah’s original disciples went through, but also by prayer and studying Elohim’s way, and what Yahshua taught and did whilst He was on earth. The Set-apart Spirit changes us into the literal begotten sons of Elohim, since we are going to be just like our Master Yahshua the Messiah when finally His creation is completed in us, in the same way that an unborn human fetus is the child of its human parents, spirit-begotten believers become the unborn children of Elohim at immersion. We receive a portion of Elohim’s divine nature when we are begotten by His Set-apart Spirit, as recorded in 2 Peter 1: 2 – 4, as follows: ‘Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of Elohim and of Yahshua our Master; (3) seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (4) For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.’ It is by Elohim’s divine nature in us that we start producing the fruits of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, listed in Galatians 5: 22 & 23.

According to 1 John 4: 16, love (or charity) is the greatest single attribute of Elohim’s nature that He transmits to us through the indwelling of His Set-apart Spirit in us, in this way: ‘And we have come to know and have believed the love which Elohim has for us. Elohim is love, and the one who abides in love abides in Elohim, and Elohim abides in him.’ Once we have Elohim’s love abiding in us, it enables us to obey His Torah, as witnessed in Romans 13: 10, as follows: ‘Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the Law.’ The Set-apart Spirit that we receive from Elohim at immersion may be compared to the seed of a human father. Elohim’s Spirit transmits His spiritual attributes to us, even as a physical seed transmits a human father’s attributes to His newly conceived offspring, the Set-apart Spirit; the seed (as per 1 Peter 1: 23) by which we are spiritually begotten imparts to us the nature and life of Elohim our heavenly Father. If we truly believe in the way of Elohim and have been immersed in Yahshua’s saving name, then we are already begotten children of Elohim. Elohim placed within us His Set-apart Spirit of eternal life – He begot us with His Set-apart Spirit just as the seed from a human father impregnates the egg of the mother. Our minds (or the spirit in man) can be compared to an egg or ovum. We were impregnated with the spiritual seed of eternal life, but we are not yet born of Elohim, not yet immortal spirits. The reason for this is as we’ve read before from 1 Corinthians 15: 50 – 52; that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of Elohim. However, we have not yet been born of spirit and are still flesh and blood but will after we are resurrected from the dead (or if we are still alive at Messiah’s return be changed) one day at Messiah’s return to be born again, like He was, as witnessed in Colossians 1: 18 in this way: ‘He is also head of the body, the congregation; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.’ After Yahshua was resurrected from the dead (born-again), He walked through a shut door as we read from John 20: 19, as follows: ‘When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Yahshua came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”’

Rav Kepha urged Nazarene believers in the first part of 2 Peter 3: 18, saying: ‘But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Master and Savior Yahshua Messiah.’ Rav Shaul confirmed this in Ephesians 4: 15, saying: ‘But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Messiah.’ Rav Kepha tells us in 1 Peter 5: 1 - 2 how and by whom new believers should be fed and nurtured so that they may grow into the stature of Messiah, saying: ‘Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Messiah, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, (2) shepherd the flock of Elohim among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of Elohim; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness.’ Rav Shaul expanded on the topic in Ephesians 4: 11 – 13, saying: “And he gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, (12) for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Messiah; (13) until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of Elohim, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Messiah.” Like with a human family, the Father begets us. During the gestation period the mother nourishes and protects the unborn child in her womb, and so is the true congregation appointed to nourish and protect true believers or disciples, until they are ready to become teachers or are ready to be born-again at their death or when Messiah returns one day in the future. Elohim’s spirit-begotten children must be fed on the spiritual food provided by Elohim - the words of the Scriptures, and live by every word of Elohim, in order to grow in spiritual character.

Once we reached maturity in our faith and spiritual character when Messiah returns, we will become born again spiritual children of Elohim. But, if the spirit-begotten child of Elohim does not grow spiritually, such a believer may be aborted. In speaking about the resurrection of the dead, when the second birth will occur, Rav Shaul told us about the new bodies we will receive, saying in first Corinthians 15: 42 - 44, ‘So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; (43) it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; (44) it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.’ In fact we see witnessed in Philippians 3: 20 & 21, that when we are resurrected (or changed) at Messiah’s return, we will become as Yahshua is at this time, in this way: ‘For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Master Yahshua Messiah; (21) who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.’ We are given a glimpse of what Yahshua our Master and Savior looks like at this time, in Revelation 1: 13 – 15, as follows: ‘And in the middle of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His breast with a golden girdle. (14) And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; (15) and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.’ When we are born-again as spirit beings we will be composed of the same substance as Elohim. We will be given spiritual bodies similar to Messiah’s and will be glorified with Elohim’s Spiritual Power. The power and glory that we will receive at Messiah’s return will be so great that it will make our bodies shine like the sun.

That is when we will truly be born-again. Most Christians assume that they were ‘born again’ when they first accepted Messiah (the one they call Christ). That is because they misapply the King James Version’s translation of 1 John 3: 9: ‘Whosoever is born of Elohim doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of Elohim,’ assuming that they are no longer capable of sinning in this life. But, according to Rav Yochanan this assumption is totally incorrect, since believers in Messiah do at times still sin, as he wrote in 1 John 1: 8 -10, saying: ‘If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.’ By using the present tense in verse 8, Rav Shaul meant that we still sin sometimes after becoming believers. In fact he included himself by saying we, throughout the quoted section. Once we are born-again we will not sin any longer, as is also confirmed in 1 John 5: 18 in this way: ‘We know that no one who is born of Elohim sins; but He who was born of Elohim keeps him and the evil one does not touch him.’

Once we are born of Elohim at the resurrection we will be able to live without ever sinning again. How? Simply, because we will at that time possess the fullness of Elohim’s divine nature and perfect character. We will no longer possess a nature which can fall victim to sin. However, as long as we are only ‘begotten’ of Elohim we need to continue resisting the temptations of the flesh. When we are caught off guard in a moment of weakness, we do sometimes sin, but we must not practice or continually live in sin. Whilst we are physical we are in a constant struggle against the temptations of Satan, the world, and the pulls of our own flesh. Although we have at this time received the begettal of Elohim’s divine nature (as per 2 Peter 1: 4), we still have our human natures as well, and the two natures war against the other, as Rav Shaul explained in Romans 7: 22 & 23, saying: ‘For I joyfully concur with the law of Elohim in the inner man, (23) but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.’ The reason for the confusion about being ‘born-again’ is caused by the misinterpretation of the Greek translation of the Renewed Covenant. The Greek word used in reference to spiritual begettal and birth is always ‘gennao’, except in the case of first Peter 1: 15 & 18. The word ‘gennao’ means ‘to beget’ or ‘to conceive’, but can also mean ‘to bear’ or ‘to be born’; whereas in English two separate verbs are used, namely ‘begotten’ and ‘born’. Because ‘gennao’ can mean either ‘begettal’ or ‘born’, it is necessary that we allow the Scriptures to interpret the Scriptures in order to know which meaning is intended in a specific passage. We see for example that the King James Version correctly uses ‘begotten’ in 1 Corinthians 4: 15; Hebrews 1: 5 and 1 John 5: 1. However, there are a few instances in most English versions of the Scriptures where the Greek word should correctly have been translated as ‘begotten’, not ‘born’ in John 1: 12 & 13; 1 John 2: 29; 4: 7; 5: 1 and 5: 4. Another reason for confusion or more correctly misconstruing the concept of being begotten of Elohim, is where we read about Messiah being the ‘only-begotten’ of Elohim in John 1: 14 & 18; 3: 16 & 1 John 4: 9. Even so, these verses do not disprove the fact that true believers are only ‘begotten’ of Elohim’s Spirit at this time, and growing toward being ‘born’ of Elohim at the resurrection. The verses where Messiah is referred to as the ‘only begotten’ of Elohim are referring to His miraculous conception in Miriam’s womb. No other human has ever been begotten by the Father’s Spirit in a human mother’s womb. He was indeed the ‘only begotten’ of Elohim. But those who have been immersed in the name of Yahshua Messiah have been ‘begotten again’ to ultimately through the process of spiritual growth and birth, become the spirit-born children of Elohim.

What Elohim created in Genesis 1: 26 & 27 was only a physical creation; man made from the dust of the ground. Elohim pictures us as clay which He as the Master Potter is busy forming into the spiritual image of Himself. Elohim uses human reproduction to picture the process by which He is reproducing Himself. Each human since Adam and Eve started from a minute ovum, produced in the body of the mother. A human life begins when a human father impregnates the ovum with a life-giving sperm cell. Unless an ovum is impregnated by the sperm of a human father, it dies after a short period of time, and is cast out of the human mother’s body. The human mind (or the spirit in man) is like an ovum. Each of us was born as incomplete physical human beings; able to live only for a comparatively short period of time. We were made to need the impregnating spiritual life of Elohim’s Set-apart Spirit, in order to be created in Elohim’s spiritual ‘image’ and live forever. Once the physical ovum is fertilized, it becomes a begotten human life called an embryo. The mother’s womb nourishes and protects it from physical harm and injury, until it has grown enough to be born as a baby. In the same way Elohim’s congregation is protected by the discipleship program started by Moses when he taught Joshua to lead the ancient Israelites into the Promised Land, and continued by Messiah during His life on earth. The congregation is protected from false doctrines and influences and fed spiritually by the Word of Elohim so they grow spiritually in the divine character of Elohim until ready to be born into His Spiritual Family. Even so, there is one main difference in this example. The physical fetus does not reach physical and mental maturity before birth. But, the spirit-begotten believer must achieve a sufficient level of spiritual maturity before he/she is ready to be born-again when Messiah returns. Whereas a newborn physical baby’s main growth occurs after birth, the spiritual begotten believer must grow spiritually before being born-again. Messiah did not grow into spiritual perfection after He was resurrected, but during His ‘human’ life on earth, as witnessed in Hebrews 5: 8 & 9, as follows: ‘Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. (9) And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.’ When Messiah was resurrected and born-again as the Son of Elohim by His resurrection as explained in Romans 1: 4[2], He was resurrected as an adult. We see that after His resurrection, His disciples recognized Him, because He looked exactly the same as before, except for the fact that He was now made of spiritual matter. Those of us who qualify will similarly, at Messiah’s return be resurrected with spiritual bodies looking much like we do now.

Finally we need to understand that spiritual growth means character development as free moral agents to distinguish between right and wrong in terms of Elohim’s word, and then to make the right decisions, even in the face of temptation and evil desires. We need to start developing spiritual character and grow toward spiritual adulthood during this lifetime, not after we are born-again. However, we read according to Hebrews 12: 23 our spirits will be made perfect during the time that it returns to the Father who gave it[3], in this way: ‘To the general assembly and congregation of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to Elohim, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect.’ Then when Messiah returns to earth one day, we shall be resurrected, or instantaneously changed, into bodies that will be like His (1st John 3: 1 – 2). We read fittingly from 1 Thessalonians 5: 23, ‘Now may the Elohim of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Master Yahshua Messiah.’ Our present physical bodies will be made like Yahshua’s spiritual glorified body; to be born again as members of Elohim’s Family and to rule as a kingdom of priests under Yahshua our Messiah. That is the reason for us being here on earth. That is why we were born. Baruch HaShem YHVH!

[1] Romans 1: 1 – 4: ‘Shaul, a bond-servant of Messiah Yahshua, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of Elohim, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of Elohim with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the spirit of holiness, Yahshua Messiah our Master.’

[2] Romans 1: 4, ‘Who was declared the Son of Elohim with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the spirit of holiness, Yahshua Messiah our Master.’

[3] Ecclesiastes 12: 7, ‘Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to Elohim who gave it.’