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Eph 6:1-4 Rom 11:22 The way God deals with client nations is an example for how parents are to deal with their children

Continuing where we left off in our study of the mandates of the PPOG for the church age believer, we are now looking at the mandates regarding parents and children found in Eph 6:1-4; and Col 3:20-21; in the context of the mandate found in Eph 4:32;

These passages restate the mandate of the Fifth Commandment found in Exod 20:12; but step them up because of the power of God the Holy Spirit and Bible Doctrine that is given to members of the Royal Family of God in the Church Age.

We are looking at how God deals with client nations in benevolence and severity as a model for the parent's dealing with their children.

We saw last time the way that God deals with client nations.

When the policy of a client nation reflects compliance with the laws of divine establishment and supports and promotes the five attributes of client nation status then everyone in the country is blessed by the love of God, under His policy of grace, and imputed to its Pivot. Blessing by association results for all citizens of the nation outside the Pivot.

When the policy of a client nation reflects noncompliance with the laws of divine establishment and rejects and diminishes the five attributes of client nation status then everyone in the country is disciplined by the love of God, under His policy of grace, and directed to its entire population.

The Pivot is not disciplined, but because it is not large enough to maintain prosperity for the entire nation, has to endure undeserved suffering but it continues to be blessed and protected because of the love of God through the grace of god by the sovereignty and omnipotence of God.

As we view current events and historical trends, we are able to evaluate these events in light of Bible Doctrine and in doing so we are able to "behold the benevolence and severity of God." in action.

At this moment in history, with the Soviet Union in decline and Communist China not yet capable of global military operations so the Lord has permitted the Arabs, the sons of Hagar, to function as a predator nation against his client nation, the United States of America.

The United States is under divine discipline because it's citizens are involved in historical trends that deviate from the laws of divine establishment because they have not been taught and they do not know, or they have rejected the responsibilities of the client nation.

In demonstrating his love in discipline, God has allowed Islam to become our source of punishment whereby we "Behold the severity of God".

The very antithesis of Christianity, the children of satan, the God of this world, and the sons of the bondwoman have been permitted to invade His earthly enclave.

This decline began in the pulpits of the churches. It has been perpetuated by parishioners who have bought into the lie, and it has been perpetuated by two generations who have been educated into the lie of socialism, internationalism and globalism.

Divine righteousness demands the punishment of degeneracy. Blessings can only be imputed to +R. Blessings from God are progressive based on the capacity righteousness of the believer that is developed through the spiritual growth from life inside the PPOG.

Fifty years of brainwashing by an educational system dedicated to the destruction of Western culture has produced a population willing to sacrifice itself on the altar of Cultural Socialism and Marxism.

Rom 11:22a; - Therefore, behold the benevolence and the severity of God...The verse continues with a Classical Greek construction designed to differentiate between the two expressions of divine love. The first is introduced by the emphatic particle "men", translated "on the one hand." The second is presented later in the verse by the adversative particle " de", translated "on the other hand."

The first expression of divine love is God's severity that in this case refers to the Jews whose collective rejection of Jesus as Messiah brought about the fifth cycle of discipline to Judah in the first century.

They are classified by the aorist active participle of the verb "pipto" translated "who fell"
The Constantive aorist tense: views the action in its entirety. It takes the Jewish rejection of Jesus as Messiah and regardless of its extent or duration gathers it into a single whole. As a result, the entire action is extended over the entire period of the Church Age.

The active voice: references The Jewish rejection of Jesus as the Messiah that has resulted in their collective fall from client nation status. Unregenerate and unbelieving Israel keeps on producing the action of the verb throughout the Church Age which is contemporaneous with the "Times of the Gentiles"

The circumstantial participle; refers to the Jew's negative volition at gospel hearing.
that is followed by the nominative singular subject: "apotomia" , our word that is translated "severity"

In context this severity refers to national discipline on Israel for its rejection of Jesus as Messiah. This discipline continues upon Israel throughout the Church Age. Individual Jews may escape this punishment through personal faith in Jesus as Messiah.

Through faith alone in Christ alone, each receives the imputation of eternal life, membership in the royal family of God, and baptism into the body of Christ.

The benevolence of God is reflected by the transfer of client nation status to Gentile nations that the Jewish believers can also participate in if they reside in the active gentile client nation.

This expression of the love of God is something we are to consider seriously. The Jewish race was God’s original choice to populate His base of operations in satan's kosmos. They were given a national code that included a variety of standards.

These standards were presented in three categories.

The first was the Decalogue which was designed to establish spiritual and establishment order and freedom in the nation.

Next was the establishment code which provided guidance for civic, legal, social, hygienic, and dietary functions.

Finally, there was the spiritual code which was designed to teach doctrine to the population through a specialized priesthood.

Compliance with these standards brought great prosperity to Israel and its people. Noncompliance brought great suffering in the form of national discipline.

From this we have the principle that if the Israelites as God’s chosen people and Israel as God’s first client nation are not exempt from His severity then, "au fortiori", neither are Gentile client nations.

We also learn that individuals are held accountable before God in their own personal relationship with Him. Compliance brings great blessing while noncompliance brings great suffering in the form of personal discipline all executed from God's policy of Grace.

This becomes guidance for parents in the rearing of children. They represent God’s love to the child. This love is expressed by righteousness standards that are enforced by justice and executed in two ways: (1) blessing for compliance and (2) discipline for noncompliance.

Parents must teach their children these concepts by a consistent, nonemotional and non-sentimental enforcement of rules, policies, standards, and doctrines within the home.

The parents’ mission is to lead their children to willingly comply with these standards based on trust rather than to grudgingly comply based on fear of reprisals.

Consistency is the key. We learn that God is consistent with client nations and individual believers. He blesses compliance and disciplines noncompliance.

Parents must take on this same responsibility as they represent God before their children.

It is human nature to desire blessing over discipline. This is especially true of children.

Severity is extremely important as explained by the Latin principle, "crescit sub pondere virtus" that is translated " virtue increases beneath oppression".

Desiring blessing over discipline, the child will begin to make choices for compliance rather than noncompliance. But his compliance should be motivated by a desire to do what is right, not by force and fear.

To accomplish this, parents must emphasize benevolence over severity. Their authority is grated for the purpose of teaching, guiding, and training. Severity is a part of this authority but it is not its primary aspect.

The mission is to lead the child in the paths of righteousness through love that builds trust.

Severity is inevitably necessary but when called for it too must be executed through love that builds trust.

The objective of parental severity is to correct behavior that prevents or interrupts the process of teaching, guiding, and training.

Benevolence as the primary function of parental authority emphasizes the desire to care for the child in every way: food, clothing, and shelter; training, guiding, and teaching.

All these are done freely from loving parents who in return only hope to see their child develop into a stable, well-rounded, clear-thinking individual who becomes a good soldier for Christ and an invisible hero in the client nation’s Pivot.

Rom 11:22a; Paul introduces this benevolence by using the adversative particle that comes next:

"de" - “but on the other hand” that is translated "but" in the NASB

This presents the other side of the coin with regard to the love of God. Benevolence is the divine attitude now being considered and it is directed to the Gentile believers of the Church Age by means of the personal pronoun:

su - “to you”

That which is directed to the Gentiles is stated next, the nominative singular of:

“benevolence” plus the genitive of description from:

"Theos" - “of God”

Rom 11:22a; -Therefore, behold the benevolence of God and the severity of God. On the one hand, severity to those who fell, but, on the other hand, to you the benevolence of God …

In the context, the severity of God is directed to the apostasy of Israel as a client nation whose citizens rejected Jesus as their Messiah and The benevolence of God is directed to the faithful Gentiles who believed in Jesus as the Christ and are growing in grace under client nation status.

Severity and benevolence are both expressions of divine love. Under severity Israel has been rejected as a client nation in the Church Age. However this rejection is neither total nor is it final. Divine benevolence will bless the Tribulation’s remnant of Jewish believers by establishing them as the inhabitants of the Millennium’s client nation of Israel.

Under benevolence, Gentiles have been awarded the authority to set up client nations in the Church Age and are placed under the supervision of Jesus Christ who controls history.

As historical trends rise and fall, our Lord either blesses or disciplines Gentile client nations in accordance with their participation in these trends.

The core factor that influences the blessing or discipline of Gentile client nations is the degree of loyalty and integrity found in those who possess the gift of pastor-teacher. When they fail to teach doctrine then their flocks deviate from truth and go astray.

Over time, because of the entropy of the human condition in it's fallen state and it's function under the OSN, the culture drifts away from biblical principles to those of human viewpoint and this is reflected in historical trends that are based on human good and evil.

This leads to the inability of parents to properly teach, lead, and direct their children into the paths of righteousness. Consequently a series of generations emerges that is divorced from the reality of truth.

The downtrends that this results in brings on national discipline, as describe in our passage as, “Behold the severity of God!”

On the other hand, when pastors teach doctrine and those in their local assembly apply it, one of the results is the proper instruction of children and the transfer of the biblically based culture over to succeeding generations.

This leads to national blessing as described in our passage as "Behold the benevolence of God"

Consequently, Parents become a critical and crucial link in the sustenance of a client nation. In order to prevent the severity of God upon the entire nation, parents must first be willing to impose severity upon their children when necessary.

However, it must be emphasized that the primary purpose of parental authority is to exhibit benevolence in leadership so that the child will willingly comply with biblical principles rather then being compelled to do so by force.

To emphasize this, let's look at the definition of benevolence that we have already seen in Theological Lexicon of the New Testament, Volume 3 Pages 513-515.

A virtue of honest folk. Anyone who shows goodness and concern toward others can be described as chrestos. The term takes on an ethical meaning: the person who is chrestos (man, woman, or child)
behaves properly, conforms to the rule of honesty, what is called "good morals." (page 513)

Paul borrows from this vocabulary, making chrestotes a fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22, a virtue of the apostles in 2 Corinthians 6:6, and of all Christians in Ephesians 4:32. (page 514)

We recently translated chrestotes in Ephesians 4:32 as "become kind, performing gracious acts." Whether the source of chrestotes is divine or human, it is a reflection of divine love and integrity that may be described as "benevolence":

An expression of love. The occurrences are so common and so diverse that it is impossible to discern the specific nuance in each instance: goodness, kindness, willingness to be of service, honesty, nobility, loyalty, probity. The point is love, a loving attitude that includes a willingness to serve one's neighbor.

This virtue is possessed only by magnanimous and unselfish souls who are characterized by kindness, friendliness, and liberality: the Christian is both delicate and generous in his relations with other believers, seeking to be useful, considerate, helpful, beneficent, always in an agreeable way, even with a smile; the expression of a person who is happy to meet his neighbor and to be able to offer him his help. (page 515)

These paragraphs define the way that the believer should express the love of God. It is a mental attitude of benevolence toward others and the first place it should be directed is toward one's children.

Parental authority must first assume the loving mental attitude of benevolence but be prepared to switch over to severity when called for. However, when functioning under severity the mental attitude of benevolence serves as a balance that prevents tyranny.

We note from our passage in Rom 11:22 that benevolence is the approach God takes toward Gentile client nations as long as its believers are advancing spiritually and carrying on the duties of client nation status.

However, this approach is replaced by severity if there is spiritual decline, apostasy, and negative volition.

This is revealed next by the introduction of a protasis in the third class condition, the conditional particle: " ean " that is translated "If"

This particle combined with the subjunctive mood of the verb denotes uncertainty.

This construction indicates what is called the "more probable future condition." The third class condition indicates that persistence of positive volition is the contingency that must occur if the status quo of benevolence is to be maintained.

This persistence is indicated by the second person plural, present active subjunctive of the verb " epimeno " translated "persist or continue" so we have (If) you persist or continue"


The present linear tense describes the continuation of existing results.

What we have here is a fact which has come to be in the past but is emphasized as a present reality. It stresses the continuance of results through present time. The idea here is that if spiritual advance presently underway continues into the future then the condition of the apodosis will be fulfilled.

The active voice describes positive and advancing Gentile believers in the Church Age who produce the action of the verb.

The subjunctive mood provides the potential for a third class condition implying a future reference and qualifying it by an element of contingency.

Fulfillment is conditional upon positive volition.

The Gentile believer must continue in the status quo of advancing in the PPOG for it to be true. The environment in which this advance is to continue is indicated by the locative of sphere from the noun: " chrestotes” that is translated "benevolence"

Rom 11:22b; Therefore, behold the benevolence of God and the severity of God. On the one hand, severity to those who fell, but, on the other hand, to you the benevolence of God, if you continue to persist in the sphere of the benevolence of God

Severity is avoided by functioning in the sphere of the benevolence of God. The structure of this sentence actually places the results of positive volition first, "To you, the benevolence of God if …"; then follows the condition that enables this circumstance to continue.

It must be remembered however, that very young children are not believers, so they are under the tyranny of a developing OSN, and they do not have rebound as a problem-solving device.

Consequently, parents must expect misbehavior and occasional rebellion. They must not be surprised by this. It must be regarded as a simple fact of life. It is to be expected and they must be prepared to deal with it.

We have seen that there are two approaches: (1) benevolence and (2) severity. Benevolence if they continue to function in the sphere of benevolence and severity if they do not.

The issue in parental authority is to always maintain a mental attitude of benevolence even when functioning in the status of severity. This is how violence, sin, and emotion are kept out of the disciplinary phase of authority.

That children will and even must encounter severity is implied by the concluding sentence of Romans 11:22. It is introduced by the conjunction:

"epei" - Generally translated in the Koine Greek as "since" or "because," but in Attic Greek it is rendered, "if it were different," or "otherwise."
-
This presents an alternative through ellipsis, meaning if you do not continue you will be cut off from blessing by divine discipline and you will bring upon yourself the severity of God.

This potential shift over to severity is indicated by the future passive indicative of the verb: " ekkopto” that is translated "cut off"

This refers to the fifth cycle of discipline.

The future tense: is a statement of a fact that is to be expected under normal conditions.

The stated condition is client nation reversionism in which the Pivot shrinks and there is a major historical trend away from the provisions of divine benevolence designed for spiritual growth and client nation function.

The passive voice, The Gentile believers receive the action through rejection of doctrine and resultant reversionism.

The indicative mood is a statement of fact indicating that it is actually occurring and is therefore predictive of the five cycles of discipline when spiritual growth in the sphere of divine benevolence does not continue.

This completes our exegesis of the verse and provides us with an expanded translation:

Romans 11:22 - Therefore, behold the benevolence of God and the severity of God. On the one hand, severity to those who fell, but, on the other hand, to you the benevolence of God, if you continue to persist in the sphere of the benevolence of God, otherwise you also shall be cut off [a shift from the blessings of benevolence to the discipline of severity].

Parents need to be so knowledgeable about divine policy that they are able to train the malleable souls of their young unbelieving children to orient and adjust to His establishment standards so that once they are saved they will be able to orient and adjust to His divine standards.

Again, it is important to realize that children from birth to around age 8 to 12 must be considered to be unbelievers. As such they are under the control of their sinful natures and will submit to its trends if not countered by parental discipline.

Our sequence of passages has indicated that parents are to approach their children from the mental attitude of benevolence. However, they are to be ever vigilant in their oversight so that when necessary they can become severe.

The responsibilities of parenthood are quite complex and extremely important. How the parents manage their child's soul contributes to their ability to orient to authority in life and especially how they will respond to the gospel and to Bible Doctrine if they become believers.

 

© Copyright 2007, Michael Lemmon Bible Ministries. World Rights Reserved.  This document was created on 8/20/2008