Seminar Faith:Fourth result of the Foundation of Faith: A foundation to receive God
- This is section 9 of the Seminar Faith. Comments or questions are appreciated. You can also write to John Eagles.
When the plant begins to flower... It grew from a seed's embedded power... When the tree gives ample fruit... These developed from a seed minute... The full-grown crop salutes the source... That's how all things go their course... God's world comes from faith expressed... Such is our one and common quest.
Fourth result of the Foundation of Faith: A foundation to receive God
Until now we have spoken about three results of the Foundation of Faith, and this section is about the fourth. These four results stand in a logical order.
The first result of the Foundation of Faith is the love relationship with God. The second result is receiving God's Word. The third result is love relationship with others. And the fourth result is a foundation to receive God.
The first two results, love for God and receiving God's truth, are on the individual level. The central figure of faith develops love for God and in return receives God's truth. This is what he or she is going to pass on to others. This is also called the Foundation of Substance.
Once the faith of the central person has been passed on to others, they will work together to express their common faith into society. This is what will enable God to work more in that society. Society can mean a smaller unit, for example a family or a group of disciples, but it can also mean a bigger group, for example an entire nation. Of course, for an entire nation more foundation is needed than for a smaller one.
This foundation to receive God expands from the individual level (the Foundation of Faith of a central figure) to a next person (with whom is made the Foundation of Substance) to a bigger group. The Foundation to receive God is commonly called 'The Foundation to receive the Messiah.' But i called it 'The Foundation to receive God' to emphasize the need for those who make this foundation to be centered on God, and only through can they be centered in a correct manner on the Messiah.
Foundation of Faith, Foundation of Substance, Foundation to receive the Messiah, these are foundations that are entirely related. None of these foundations could exist without the other. Faith can be kept by one individual but eventually that individual must pass on his or her faith to others or else that faith will falter. For the central figure of faith there is this continuous demand and tension to keep faith and to pass faith on to others. Eventually that faith must be expanded to a larger group who then will express this faith by building on God's ideals.
A foundation to receive the Messiah
God prepares central figures of God's Providence of restoration. God prepares these people over a course of many generations. When such a central figure fulfills to do God's will and acquires enough faith and strength to instill God's ideals into a family, tribe, society, that person can receive the mission of Messiah.
It can be said that God's entire focus is on preparing a person who can fulfill as a Messiah. The Messiah, that is the anointed one, chosen and blessed by God for a central and responsible mission.
But a Messiah cannot operate in a vacuum. He needs to grow up and be educated when he is young, and he needs to be protected against attacks by evil forces, and he needs people around him who follow him and who help him to set up God's ideal.
The preparation for the Messiah centrally is done by people who make a Foundation of Faith and a Foundation of Substance. These are people who love God, who have faith in God and who have learned to not be influenced by evil. These people can be called 'Israel'. The name was first given to Jacob after he won a spiritual fight with an angel. Jacob had made a Foundation of Faith, and later also a Foundation of Substance by having his brother Esau unite with him. Jacob's children and descendants inherited Jacob's or Israel's mission.
That mission of Israel, or the mission to prepare a foundation to receive the Messiah, is not necessarily limited to the people whom we historically know as Israelites. The mission can be given to any person or group who loves God and who seriously take on their mission to build a world under God.
How these foundations relate
The Foundation of Faith is internal, is essentially a love and trust relationship between God and man. A first expression of fulfilled levels of a foundation of faith is that God can give truth. Truth or true principles make up the design for God's ideal. When God gives truth, that truth is necessary for us to know how to live in the right way, how to build an ideal society.
The Foundation of Faith expands when the central figure of faith passes on his or her own faith to other people. This is done in various ways. It is done by loving other people. It is also done by explaining God's principles. When other people unite with such a central figure, they make their own foundations of faith and they can also receive God's love and truth. And they also pass this on.
In that way, the foundation of faith that started in one individual spreads to other people and eventually expresses into a better society. Such a better society then forms a field in which the Messiah can operate. One of his main tasks is to build a foundation of faith himself. Another task is to express God's ideals in his own family. Again another task is to help others to also acquire faith in God. As such the Messiah is a model of faith and he, or later when he is married, they also are models for how to express their faith into all aspects of life.
A Messiah has more tasks than mentioned here but this seminar is to teach about faith. Eventually each person who comes closer to God gets the task of Messiah. Just like it was true for the foundation of faith, such a task can be on various levels, from family to tribal to, for fewer a national level, to the world and cosmic levels.
As a foundation of faith can start in one individual and then expand to others and into foundations of substance and to receive God, these can also be broken down in a reverse direction. When the expressed foundations of substance and to receive the Messiah begin to crumble due to failures by people involved, this has consequences for the initial foundation of faith made by a central figure.
Assignments
- Assignments are optional tasks that may help you to get a deeper grasp of the topic of this section of the seminar.
- Explain in your own words how the Foundation of Faith, the Foundation of Substance the Foundation to receive the Messiah are related, both in a positive sense of building up these foundations and in a negative sense when these foundations break down.
- Explain in your own words what exactly is the Foundation to receive the Messiah.
Further reading
- Other articles on ERW that are related to the content of this section of the seminar.
What you should remember
- The first result of the Foundation of Faith is the love relationship with God. The second result is receiving God's Word. The third result is love relationship with others. And the fourth result is a foundation to receive God.
- The Foundation to receive God is commonly called 'The Foundation to receive the Messiah.'
- Foundation of Faith, Foundation of Substance, Foundation to receive the Messiah, these are foundations that are entirely related. None of these foundations could exist without the other. For the central figure of faith there is this continuous demand and tension to keep faith and to pass faith on to others. Eventually that faith must be expanded to a larger group who then will express this faith by building on God's ideals.
- The preparation for the Messiah centrally is done by people who make a Foundation of Faith and a Foundation of Substance. These are people who love God, who have faith in God and who have learned to not be influenced by evil. These people can be called 'Israel'.
- the foundation of faith that started in one individual spreads to other people and eventually expresses into a better society. Such a better society then forms a field in which the Messiah can operate.
Back
- Seminar Faith to go to the other sections of this seminar.
- Seminar Faith:Third result of the Foundation of Faith: Love relationship with others to go to the former section of this seminar.
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External links
- List of messiah claimants Wikipedia
- Messiah Wikipedia
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