Village Visit: Sindhibhata

Deep in the jungle of Odisha bordering with Chattisgarh, about two hours drive from the city, a brother and his wife took us for a meeting in a village named, Sindhibhata. Simple villagers from a low caste background, but through the labor of some brothers, almost the entire village became Christians. As we arrived this village we were welcomed by the main brother who oversee the Lord's work in the entire village.

As the meeting began, believers came one by one, and filled the entire campus seated on the matted ground. The elder brothers took their seats on the side where chairs were arranged for them. Simple villagers, sang with all their hearts, and enjoyed the praise and worship.

When time for message came, the elders welcomed us in stage, garlanded with flowers garland as a sign of respect and welcome. We had no idea what the Lord would speak through us, we simply believed in the Lord’s instant speaking, trusting simply that it will be given to us what to speak when it was time to speak. 

The Lord did give us the word. A brother spoke first, and gave three points to receive spiritual blessing who is God Himself: to call upon the Lord's name, to confess their sins, and to love the Lord. Then I followed, echoed whatever my brother had spoken, and added two more points on reading the word of God and praying daily. The fellowship was a complete message, God as the spiritual blessing, and the way to receive the blessing. The elders and leading brothers testified that the message was what they need and very timely.

May the Lord bless His children in this remote village. 

The Ministry of the Word Literature Journey: Cuttack - Bhubaneswar

This twin city welcomed us to a brother's home who made arrangement for our meeting with Christian leaders. Leader by leader, we met and introduced the ministry books. Each one of them appreciated the ministry books; they either purchased or placed order for the books. Our burden was to make the ministry books available to all Christians. As we met the Christian leaders, some of them showed their interest to translate the ministry books into Oriya. Three brothers fellowshipped with us to give them books for translation. Moreover, there was also a great need for the ministry books to be made available into Oriya. After we finished our work, a BSI guest house called "The Bible House" was arranged for our night stay. The Lord have been shepherding us all this while.

After our burden was released in Cuttack, we moved on to Bhubaneswar and met some Christian leaders. In this capital city, the Lord burdened us to meet two families to fellowship with. 

A brother who was burdened for Bhubaneswar resigned from the Christian organization he worked with before, then came to this city to start serving the Lord. Last year he called me, as his friend whom I met in Ranchi last year gave my number to him. Since then, I also wanted to meet him. Finally, the Lord brought us together. 

The Lord burdened us to introduce "The Orthodoxy of the Church" and ministered at length on what the church is according to the Bible. The brother and his wife received our fellowship and responded that they were convicted by the truth. Hope that they will read the ministry books and stand for the Lord's testimony one day.

The brother who received us at the Airport was the one who took us around as we came to this capital city. He also took us to his joint family, three brothers living together with their wives and children. As most of them, except one, have not yet been baptised, we shared the gospel, led them to call on the Lord's name, and explained the significances of baptism. The three families were simple and did not have much of religious background. Before we left, the brother told us that he would study the word daily using The New Testament, Recovery Version. He also said that he would seriously pray and consider his baptism along with his whole joint family. He even said that he would invite me to baptise them when they all are ready. Well, this is human words, but our trust is in the Lord. If the Lord so will, the Lord will bring us again for the baptism of the entire family, and even for the raising up of the Lord's testimony in Bhubaneswar.

Our burden was released and we left for the next city. May the Lord continue to operate in the families we have met and fellowshipped with and raise up His testimony soon. 

The Ministry of the Word Literature Journey: Balasore

Few months ago as I was praying and considering to visit Odisha for the introduction and distribution of the ministry of the word, a brother called me and introduce me to a brother in Balasore. On calling him, he immediately invited me to visit him, and I took that as a "Macedonia" call. After a few more days of prayer, I brought it to fellowship with some brothers, and then I decided to visit this city.

A brother and I flew to Bhubaneswar, the capital city last week. One brother came to receive us at the Airport. As he introduced himself, I felt the leading to preach the gospel and showed him from the Bible, God's plan, Christ's redemption, and then his need for baptism as a believer, as he is a born Catholic and not yet baptised. The Lord indeed spoke to him and a few days later he told me he and his whole family would be baptised soon. May the Lord save the whole family.

In Balasore, a brother who invited me happens to be a big businessman living as a joint family with his brother and sister; all of them are in business. He invited the leading Pastors and Christian leaders of the city to come and meet with us. We introduced the ministry books to all of them.

The following day, the elder brother of the brother who invited us drove us to the nearby villages and towns for the distribution of the ministry books. 

We were also led to the camp site of Brother Graham Steward Staines who was burnt alive in his vehicle with his two sons on the night of January 22, 1999. Out of such a sacrifice and martyrdom the Lord saved many local people in Odisha. Now, many villages, towns, and cities of Odisha have been evangelised! I felt blessed to be able to visit and learn of such burden and sacrifice from an Australian missionary.

One night, we had a family gather of the brother who invited us. The entire family, three joint family, came together for fellowship. We shared a simply gospel on "Who is Jesus?" and ministered to them the need for prayer, Bible reading, and calling upon the Lord's name. We all enjoyed calling upon the Lord's name. We also encouraged them to start a regular family prayer at least once a week. These joint family is the base for the Lord's move in this city. Perhaps, one day, the Lord will gain the entire family and raise up His testimony in Balasore.

Chhattisgarh, shepherd these seeking ones and raise up Your testimony! 

Word Study: Sonship, An Organic Process

As I continue to delve on the word "sonship," the word "organic" was put into question. For which, I did further study and wrote the following article with the help of the messages by Brother Witness Lee and other scholars. 

God's Complete Salvation

God's complete salvation is of two aspects: judicial redemption and organic salvation. Judicially, God accomplished redemption in Christ at the cross. Therefore, forgiving and washing our sins, justifying, reconciling, and sanctifying us positionally. All these, Christ accomplished for us, and qualifies us to subjectively experience His salvation by life, which is, God's organic salvation.

Romans 5:10For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled.

Romans 5:17For if, by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:18So then as it was through one offense unto condemnation to all men, so also it was through one righteous act unto justification of life to all men.

Romans 5:21In order that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sonship, An Organic Process

Organic refers to life. Organic process refers to our experiences of God’s saving life unto sonship through the life-giving Spirit operating in us since the time we repent and believed into the Lord Jesus Christ. The first of such subjective experience is regeneration or born again or born anew, then continues with feeding, dispositional sanctification, renewing, transformation, building, conformation, and finally, glorification, when we will attain the full sonship. These experiences are fully of life, subjectively experienced, and God predestinated us for this, unto sonship, through the organic process as mentioned above. 

The five occurrences of the Greek word huiothesia describes the organic process of sonship.

This organic process begins in Ephesians 1:5 with the predestination of the believers unto sonship. 

Ephesians 1:5Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

According to Galatians 4:5, we the redeemed believers received the sonship.

Galatians 4:5That He might redeem those under law that we might receive the sonship. 

According to Romans 8:15, we the redeemed believers receive the spirit of sonship.

Romans 8:15For you have not received a spirit of slavery bringing you into fear again, but you have received a spirit of sonship in which we cry, Abba, Father!

Finally, according to Romans 8:23, we the redeemed believers are eagerly awaiting our sonship, the consummation and maturation of the process of becoming a manifest son of God, the redemption of our body.

Romans 8:23And not only so, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan in ourselves, eagerly awaiting sonship, the redemption of our body.

In the Old Testament, this sonship is the unique privilege of Israel according to God’s sovereignty.

Romans 9:4Who are Israelites, whose are the sonship and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law and the service and the promises; 

Therefore, the use of the phrase "adoption as son" refers only to and conveys the judicial procedure of becoming a son. Whereas "sonship" implies both the judicial procedure as the basis, as well as the subjective experiences by life as the process, through the operation of the life-giving Spirit within the believers for obtaining the full sonship.

Praise the Lord brother, we are in such an organic process now as we love the Lord, pursue Him in prayer and in His Word, and fellowship with fellow believers day by day.

Word Study: Adoption or Sonship?

A brother and I have been exchanging messages concerning the translation of the Bible especially on the matter on Ephesians 1:5. As we message each other back and forth I was helped to study the meaning of the word "sonship." Below is my message to him. 

The original Greek text in Ephesians 1:5

Eph 1:5 προορίσας ἡμᾶς εἰς υἱοθεσίαν διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς αὐτόν, κατὰ τὴν εὐδοκίαν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ. 

You mentioned "father (adopted us)". According to the original Greek text, and the word of God in John 1:12-13, 3:3,5 and few others, we are "born of God". That's why the Bible uses the word "born again"  or "born anew" and not "adopted". Many Bible translation did not capture the accurate meaning, thereby introducing a notion of "adoption". There is a vast distinction between adoption and sonship.

As a Christian, I am born again of God’s divine life and nature to be children of God, so are you and all genuine believers, not adopted.

If a person is merely  "adopted of God", he is still not a genuine believer, not born but adopted. But the fact is, we are all born of God, therefore I can call you brother M_____. Birth has a life-relation, adoption has no life relation, but law-relation.

This is what I learn from the study of the word and am sharing it to you.

Praise the Lord brother M_____!

Later, I studied from scholarly writers and wrote an article:

In the spirit of fellowship and brotherhood, let me offer my study and learning from the word of God on "Adoption" and "Sonship."

Adoption or Sonship?

As Christian our relationship with God is that of a Father-son, being biblically and experientially proven.

Galatians 3:26For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 

Romans 8:14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Our spiritual birth by faith by believing into the Lord Jesus Christ qualifies us as children of God as being born of God by the Spirit in our human spirit (John 1:12,13; 3:3,5). Unfortunately, many Bible translation did not capture the spiritual truth conveyed in the Greek word for sonship. Therefore, translators of the Bible need to have a full and complete grasp of spiritual revelation in addition to being scholarly in Greek and the target language, in this case, English. The choice of word, especially the text of the Bible, should have been done with utmost care as it affects the thought and belief of the readers which they even deem as the word of God. The original Greek text indeed is the authentic word of God, but if a translation has ambiguity or even err in conveying the thought of God, it is a serious concern. Here comes the need for an accurate translation of the Bible. Though may not be feasible, as much as possible, learning Greek is a great advantage for lovers of the Lord and His word.

The Greek Word Meaning for Sonship- huiothesia

The word huiothesia is a compound word with two parts: a noun huios meaning son, and thesia derived from the verb tithemi, meaning to set, put, or place. Therefore huiothesia literally means setting someone as a son or putting someone in the place of a son.

How did God set or put someone as a son?

The Bible emphatically reveals this process of setting or putting sinners as His sons by an organic process called born again, born anew, or regeneration. There is no absolute thought of this being a judicial process merely as the notion conveyed by the English word "adoption" which commonly understood as the act or process of taking a child of other parents and making him as his own, perhaps, by legal means. To render this meaning of "adoption" is not a proper spiritual thought at all as our faith in Christ is not a matter of adoption by law but of sonship by life.

The word huiothesia (lit., setting one as a son) occurs five times in the New Testament (Rom. 8:15, 23; 9:4; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5) and has been translated in the majority of English versions as "adoption as sons." A more accurate translation is, "sonship", since it conveys the sense of the abiding status of being a son, born organically of the Father, same in life and in nature (1 John 3:1-2, 2 Peter 1:4), which the word "adoption" cannot convey. Therefore, a couple of scholars translated the Bible from Greek again, not undermining the existing translation, but referencing them and respecting the tradition of translation that have existed since time immemorial, yet rendering a more accurate word wherever necessary of which the Recovery Version of the Bible is one such. 

As a believer, I feel indebted to share what I have learned to my fellow believers so that we may learn from one another and be built up with one another through the full knowledge of the word of God, for it is the word that can make us grow and build us up (Acts 20:32).

May the Lord bless this fellowship.

Colombo: Church Visit

Sri Lanka, though neighbouring India, had never been visited in spite of the coordination the serving ones there and us, in India in the literature service, have. I had been harbouring a vague notion about the country and the people. This time, our visit was an eye opening to me.

As we landed, a brother picked us up and took us for a dinner lovefeast to his home. The saints are wealthier than I anticipated. Their hospitality was very good and their love for us was so warm. I was of the assumption that the country is on par with India. But it appears to me that they are better off than many parts of India. The beautiful landscapes, fresh air, cool breeze, and the lovely saints changed my whole concept about the country. Experience indeed is the best teacher. 

I was given hospitality at a saint's home who came to the church life few years ago from a Roman Catholic and Bhuddist background. The truths of the Bible properly interpreted in the ministry of the word have been their continual life supply that keeps them in the enjoyment of the church life. 

My host, a brother and his wife, drove me around the city of Colombo for sight seeking, for shopping, and even for dinning. We also had good time of fellowship on the word of God during breakfast and dinner. I especially was glad that we could fellowship on the word of God in depth with experiences that were so encouraging, edifying, and I believe, a certain amount of building up has also taken place among us. They shared the vision and trench they saw and wanted to know how I would consider. To me, the ministry of the word which is an interpretation of the word of God, is the yard stick I use to expound any vision. With Bible references I showed them what their vision could have meant in the light of the word of God. Interpreting spiritual vision  with spiritual truths cannot go wrong. In fact, the interpretation I presented turned out to be what they exactly are today. Their getting saved, seeking for the truth, finding the ministry of the word, coming into the church life, and finally, their home being opened for the church meeting and for the saints' hospitality are the fulfillment of their vision. It was so marvelous to see how the Lord led them in their lives, and now the consideration even to serve full time. God is sovereignly wise in leading them all the way.

One evening the church arranged a lovefeast dinner for us, visiting saints. The feast was grand but a great surprise awaited us. After the dinner, we were all requested to share our testimonies. It was my first time to hear the personal testimonies of the brothers with whom I serve and it was also my first time to share my testimony to them. Though arranged by the church, it was also good for all of us who serves together in the literature service. Though I had shared my testimony many times to different people, that night was very special. I was beside myself, and the inner anointing was so sweet as I shared what the Lord has been doing in my life. Point by point, word by word, I could testify of the Lord's doing. It was such a blessing to be blended in a way of sharing what the Lord has done in our life. That night was indeed a night to remember.

May the Lord bless the saints and the churches in Sri Lanka. 

Colombo: Literature Fellowship

A visit to Colombo was very significant in the Lord’s move in Sri Lanka. Though we did not intend it, the Lord had led the brothers to make necessary arrangement for literature fellowship. It was the 16th March 2019, the church in Colombo witnessed the Lord's unprecedented move through the literature service. The saints have been burdened for the translation of the ministry books into Sinhala, and they have done their best, even to ultimately bring out the New Testament  Recovery Version. The burden was good. There also must be a proper way to carry out the burden. Burden per se will never accomplish anything unless it is translated into action. And mere action would not accomplish anything significant either without the proper way of doing it. Therefore, it was timely and sovereign of the Lord that we could visit Colombo; four of us, two from India and two from USA.

The two sessions of fellowship on Saturday have clarified the concerns and doubts of the saints concerning the literature service. We presented the burden and importance of the publication work with a very practical help on the step by step process. The result of that half day, two sessions fellowship was noteworthy.

Four saints, a brother and three sisters, signed up for Greek online course with the goal of translating the New Testament. Two saints consecrated to translate the HWMR. The saints who are good in translation were commissioned to translate the title books and Life-study of the Bible. Therefore, the Lord manifested the proper vessels for the literature service.

After the meeting, we were in awe of what the Lord had done. The leading brothers were even more joyful as the Lord opened the way for the saints' participation in the literature to meet the need of the ministry materials in Sinhala. 

One of the main translators had told me how happy she felt as her vision and burden were coming into fruition. She had been bound with the translation of HWMR and other training materials as she is the best translator available so far. Now, after the fellowship she will be learning Greek for the Bible translation and she will be focusing her service on translating the title books and Life-study of the Bible. The burden in her even led her to consider quitting her secular job to serve the Lord full time. My brotherly fellowship was to pray and following the Lord's leading step by step.

Praise the Lord for the unprecedented, impromptu, yet spiritually significant literature fellowship in Colombo for the Lord's move in Sri Lanka.