halconero Posted August 13, 2015 Posted August 13, 2015 (edited) I've been making a renewed effort at regular scripture study, and have done well so far for the past month. I'm grateful for the change within that makes the study of scripture a delight instead of a chore. I have about a 2.5 hour transit experience both ways right now, and use most of that time to study the scriptures and the sermons from General Conference. I've been mostly doing it on iPad, and while transferring some of my notes and markings from it into my hard copy of the scriptures and journal last night I reread this portion of Moses: 60 For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified; 61 Therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment. 62 And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time. I had marked a portion of it previously, but while rereading it this time I was struck with a very strong impression concerning this unpacking of the God's plan, and came to understand it a bit more deeply. Enoch here breaks down various aspects of salvation and exaltation for his listeners in what I believe to be a very clear way. Via baptism, the gift of the Spirit, and the application of Christ's atonement we have a number of things "given to abide in [us]." If we go by the water, Spirit, blood order we can find out what Commandments, Justification, and Sanctification provide us: - WATER (Baptism) / COMMANDMENT: - The Record of Heaven: This ordinance is our official entrance into the records of heaven, the Church of the Firstborn, and the Church on the earth. Interestingly, an "ordinance" is synonymous with "law" or "commandment" in many municipalities and cities. - SPIRIT / JUSTIFICATION: - The Comforter, Peaceable things of immortal glory, the truth of all things: Here Enoch transitions from explaining commandment and water baptism, to explaining justification and the Spirit. The Spirit comforts us and gives us a hope in our salvation and exaltation. I was pondering on the phrase "Peaceable things of immortal glory" for a time, wondering if it referred to this life or the next. I realized that if we refer to Moses 6:59 it says that we can "Enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory." The Peaceable things of immortal glory refers to an understanding and internalization of the Spirit's promises, assurances and whisperings of eternal life. The truth of all things does not mean to have a knowledge of all things, as that's actually promised later in the verse. Instead, it is an understanding of the correctness of the principles presented to us. Being justified in the eyes of God, and by the Spirit allows us to enjoy communion and understanding of this doctrine. It doesn't mean we will know all of it, but we have the blessing to know the truth of what's being taught. - BLOOD / SANCTIFICATION: - That which quikeneth all things, which maketh all things alive; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice and judgement: If I'm understanding the ordering of Enoch's explanation here, Sanctification is not a process which can be wholly completed in this life. Why did I divide this part from Spirit/Justification? Because this portion commences with an explanation of the Resurrection. The Blood of Christ quickens the dead and makes them alive, suggesting that part of the process of becoming holy is putting of the mortal body in favour of the immortal. Sanctification or exaltation doesn't entail just knowing the truth of all things. Knowing the truth of a principle is not sufficient enough to be exalted. A god or goddess must have intimate knowledge of all things, not just whether they're correct. I know the truth of a lot of the laws of physics, but don't ask me to explain the mathematical principles of them. Finally, the one who is sanctified, or made holy by the blood of Christ, is given all power. All power pertaining to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgement. When Christ appeared in his exalted state to the apostles after his resurrection he told them that he had gained all power. What is an exalted being except one who has all power over mercy, justice, and judgement over his or her children according to wisdom and truth? - SUMMARY:Enoch summarizes this passage by stating that these two verses entail the Plan of Salvation through the Blood of the Only Begotten. I found these verses to be some of the simplest, but deepest verses pertaining to salvation and exaltation in the scriptures. Feel free to disagree with me, explain more, or add in your thoughts. Edited August 13, 2015 by halconero 4
Bobbieaware Posted August 14, 2015 Posted August 14, 2015 (edited) I've been making a renewed effort at regular scripture study, and have done well so far for the past month. I'm grateful for the change within that makes the study of scripture a delight instead of a chore. I have about a 2.5 hour transit experience both ways right now, and use most of that time to study the scriptures and the sermons from General Conference. I've been mostly doing it on iPad, and while transferring some of my notes and markings from it into my hard copy of the scriptures and journal last night I reread this portion of Moses: 60 For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified; 61 Therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment. 62 And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time.I had marked a portion of it previously, but while rereading it this time I was struck with a very strong impression concerning this unpacking of the God's plan, and came to understand it a bit more deeply. Enoch here breaks down various aspects of salvation and exaltation for his listeners in what I believe to be a very clear way.Via baptism, the gift of the Spirit, and the application of Christ's atonement we have a number of things "given to abide in [us]."If we go by the water, Spirit, blood order we can find out what Commandments, Justification, and Sanctification provide us:- WATER (Baptism) / COMMANDMENT: - The Record of Heaven: This ordinance is our official entrance into the records of heaven, the Church of the Firstborn, and the Church on the earth. Interestingly, an "ordinance" is synonymous with "law" or "commandment" in many municipalities and cities. - SPIRIT / JUSTIFICATION: - The Comforter, Peaceable things of immortal glory, the truth of all things: Here Enoch transitions from explaining commandment and water baptism, to explaining justification and the Spirit. The Spirit comforts us and gives us a hope in our salvation and exaltation. I was pondering on the phrase "Peaceable things of immortal glory" for a time, wondering if it referred to this life or the next. I realized that if we refer to Moses 6:59 it says that we can "Enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory." The Peaceable things of immortal glory refers to an understanding and internalization of the Spirit's promises, assurances and whisperings of eternal life. The truth of all things does not mean to have a knowledge of all things, as that's actually promised later in the verse. Instead, it is an understanding of the correctness of the principles presented to us. Being justified in the eyes of God, and by the Spirit allows us to enjoy communion and understanding of this doctrine. It doesn't mean we will know all of it, but we have the blessing to know the truth of what's being taught.- BLOOD / SANCTIFICATION: - That which quikeneth all things, which maketh all things alive; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice and judgement: If I'm understanding the ordering of Enoch's explanation here, Sanctification is not a process which can be wholly completed in this life. Why did I divide this part from Spirit/Justification? Because this portion commences with an explanation of the Resurrection. The Blood of Christ quickens the dead and makes them alive, suggesting that part of the process of becoming holy is putting of the mortal body in favour of the immortal. Sanctification or exaltation doesn't entail just knowing the truth of all things. Knowing the truth of a principle is not sufficient enough to be exalted. A god or goddess must have intimate knowledge of all things, not just whether they're correct. I know the truth of a lot of the laws of physics, but don't ask me to explain the mathematical principles of them.Finally, the one who is sanctified, or made holy by the blood of Christ, is given all power. All power pertaining to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgement. When Christ appeared in his exalted state to the apostles after his resurrection he told them that he had gained all power. What is an exalted being except one who has all power over mercy, justice, and judgement over his or her children according to wisdom and truth?- SUMMARY:Enoch summarizes this passage by stating that these two verses entail the Plan of Salvation through the Blood of the Only Begotten. I found these verses to be some of the simplest, but deepest verses pertaining to salvation and exaltation in the scriptures. Feel free to disagree with me, explain more, or add in your thoughts.One of the fascinating elements found in these passages of scripture is the juxtaposition of the blood of Christ and the Spirit from their usual associations with justification (being declared innocent) and sanctification (being made holy). What I'm saying is that in other passages of scripture found throughout the Standard Works, the blood of Christ is usually associated with justification and the divine, transformative power of the Spirit is usually linked to sanctification (I seem to remember somewhere McConkie pointed out Enoch's departure from the usual association of the blood with justification and the Spirit with sanctification). I personally believe this unusual departure from the doctrinal norm is highly instructive because Enoch understands that there is sanctifying power in the blood of Christ as well as in the Spirit, and that there is sin-cleansing power in the Spirit as well as the blood. As to the sin-cleansing power of the Spirit, this is likely the reason why, in John, Christ told his disciples that the mere act of the drinking of his "blood" in the sacrament is utterly meaningless and impotent without the powerful presence of the Spirit. 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day... 60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (John 6) Edited August 14, 2015 by Bobbieaware
Broker Posted August 15, 2015 Posted August 15, 2015 Good job on your efforts to diligently study the scriptures ! I've come to know for myself what it means to feast upon the word of God. I would recommend you keep a gospel study journal, separate from your persona journal. That's what I do. I have it organized by subjects, so I can build on past study and insights. I keep mine on Google Docs, so I can access it from various devices. You provided some great insights on these verses. I'm a little more advanced in age, so I've come to realize that the first challenge is to understand the gospel (which I'm continually trying to do), and the second and more difficult challenge is to figure out the practical, day to day practice of it. I can understand and agree with your words about baptism and commandments and justification by the Spirit and the attendant blessings (great correlation by the way !). Personally, I always get hung up with the blood doctrine. I have no idea how the shedding of His blood (or why it needed to be shed) can make us clean or sanctified. Just can't find any logic that explains that doctrine. Any insights on that ?
Saint Sinner Posted August 15, 2015 Posted August 15, 2015 Great articulation and insight. What exactly are the theological definitions of justification and sanctification in LDS perspective?
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